RP ladies sputter with 151, slip to 9th

The Philippines turned from awesome to awful as it limped home with a seven-over
151 after a sizzling nine-under 135 as it reeled back to ninth place after three
rounds of the World Amateurs Golf Team Championships in Argentina Friday.
Dottie Ardina, whose flawless 65 at the Buenos Aires Golf Club lifted Team RP
from joint ninth to solo fourth halfway through the Espirito Santo Trophy, lost
her touch after a birdie on No. 3, fumbling with four bogeys and a double-bogey
and didn’t count with a five-over 77, also at the BAGC.
But Dabawenya Chihiro Ikeda and Mia Piccio didn’t fare well either with the former turning
in a roller-coaster round of 75 and the latter failing to find her rhythm for
the second straight day and winding up with a 76.
That 151 aggregate dropped the ICTSI-backed team to ninth at 430 in a tie with
Mexico, which pooled a 149, even as South Korea poised itself for a runaway
victory with another sterling round of 134 for a stirring 25-under 407 total.
With Kim Hyun-soo firing six birdies in the first 10 holes for a 66 and Kim
Ji-hee scoring a hole-in-one on No. 14 for a 68 and Han Jung-eun knocking down
two eagles for another 68, one of which counted for the team, Korea pulled away
from the US with a 13-shot lead heading into the final round of the biennial
event.
US wavered with a two-over 146 but remained in second at 420 while Germany also
kept its place at third with a 423 after a 146. South Africa shot a 143 to move
up to fourth with a 424 while Argentina (144), Spain (138) and France (141) tied
for fifth at 425.
Defending champion Sweden stood at eighth with 426 after a 145 while four
strokes back at 430 are Mexico and RP, seeking to improve its best finish of
ninth in the 1968 edition in Australia.
“They had a good start but failed to sustain it. Dottie and Chihiro struggled
with their iron game and Mia continued to struggle on the greens, missing at
least three makeable birdie putts,” said RP and ICTSI team coach Bong Lopez.
Despite the poor round, Lopez remains confident of a big finish by his wards,
especially Ikeda, who recovered from a 39 with three straight birdies from No.
10, only to yield them back with three straight bogeys from No. 15.
Team RP, whose stint is sponsored by ICTSI and sanctioned by the National Golf
Association of the Phils., actually went three-under after three holes with
Ikeda gunning down a birdie on the opening hole and Ardina making her eighth
straight in two days on No. 3.
But things turned sour for the Filipinas as Ikeda fumbled with a bogey and two
double bogeys against a birdie after nine holes and Ardina dropping two strokes
on Nos. 7 and 9.
Piccio, the team’s top scorer in the first round with a 71, couldn’t get her
game going and went out with a 38 before adding another 38 for that 76, marred
by three bogeys and a double bogey against a lone birdie.
Ardina also slid from joint fifth to a share of 15th in the individual
competition with a 54-hole haul of 215, 10 strokes behind Jung, who had a 205
and a one-shot lead over Ji.(pr)