Phl ladies collapse, lose by 1

HONG KONG – Thailand pounced on the Philippines’ backside meltdown to snatch a one-stroke victory with a closing 220 as the Filipina golfers fumbled with a 224 in the final of the Santi Cup of the Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship at the Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club here, recently.
Dottie Ardina went over par for the first time, finishing with a 72 but which still stood as the team’s best score as Andie Unson made a 75 and Chihiro Ikeda blew it all at the back with a 41 for a 77.
Jayvie Agojo also wavered at the finish and didn’t count with a 78.
The Philippines, which led by three heading to the final day on rounds of 207, 209, 213, wound up with an 853 and lost by one.
Thailand didn’t do well either, shooting a 219 after a 210, 208, 214. But the Thais cashed in on the Pinays’ collapse in the closing holes with Pavarisa Yoktuan and Panitta Yusabai clinching the win with final hole birdies.
Pinrath Loomboonruang, playing in the final flight with Ardina, holed out with a bogey to make it a one-shot win as she matched Ardina’s 72 while Yoktuan and Yusabai carded a 73 and 75, respectively, for a 220 and an 852 aggregate.
The Thais moved within one after nine holes but ICTSI-backed bets surged to a running seven-shot lead after the top two Phl scorers totaled one-over par before Ikeda stumbled with a double-bogey on No. 13.
Thailand started the backside with a combined seven-over card but re-grouped as Loomboonruang and Phaewchimplee both birdied No. 15 to bounce back.
Ikeda earlier bogeyed No. 14 which Agojo double-bogeyed before the latter dropped two more strokes in the last four holes and was scratched out.
“We were up by 7 before Ikeda made a double-bogey on No. 13. They simply collapsed,” rued ICTSI golf and national team coach Bong Lopez. “We just gave it to them.”
It was a sorry fold-up by the Filipinas, whose campaign was sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Phils. and supported by ICTSI and the Philippine Sports Commission, who took the lead right in the first round and kept it with gutsy rounds in the next two days only to disintegrate when the going got tough.
Ardina, who earlier strung up impressive rounds of 68, 69, 69, also missed clinching the individual honors with a 277, losing by one to Loomboonruang, who had a 276.
Malaysia finished a far third at 877 after a 223 while Hong Kong wound up fourth with a 221 for an 880 followed by Singapore (215-883) and Indonesia (233-916).
Meanwhile, the Phl juniors team made a 234 and finished fourth in the Lion City Cup topped by Thailand, which had an 869 after a 220, beating Malaysia (220-872) by three. Indonesia placed third with an 888 after a 226 followed by Singapore (233-904) and Hong Kong (245-935).
Andres Saldaña’s 77 became the Phl’s best score as Gio Gandionco had a 78 and Rupert Zaragoza made a 79. Clyde Mondilla was out with an 80 in the event the Filipinos ruled in Malaysia last year.
The Putra Cup team of Zanie Boy Gialon (71), John Kier Abdon (75) and Art Arbole (75) wound up sixth in a field of seven, pooling a final round 221 for an 883, nipping Myanmar, which had an 885 after a 228.
Singapore held off Hong Kong, 216-218, to clinch the crown with an 846 with the hosts setting for runner-up with an 850. Indonesia placed third with an 860 after a 219 followed by Malaysia (220-862) and dethroned champion Thailand (221-880).(pr)

Phl flounders, tumbles to fifth in Lion City Cup

HONG KONG – The defending champion Philippine junior team yielded to poor form and limped home with a horrible 17-over 227 as it fell by 16 shots behind a steady Thailand crew halfway through the Lion City Cup of the Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championships here yesterday.
Gio Gandionco, who made a 73 in Tuesday’s opener, had a rollercoaster round at the up-and-down Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club course, making three birdies, three bogeys and two double bogeys for a four-over 74, the best score in a day of floundering fortunes for the souped-up squad.
Rupert Zaragoza, the reigning national junior and men’s champion, failed to get going after dropping two strokes on No. 12, hitting just one birdie against four more bogeys for a 75 after a 74, while Andres Saldaña, who didn’t count with a 79 Tuesday, made five bogeys and two double bogeys against a lone birdie for a 78 that still counted for the team.
Clyde Mondilla, the best scorer in the first round with a 71, stumbled with a bogey and a double bogey in the first five holes at the back then made a 9 at the par-5 15th for a 42 then fumbled with another double bogey and a bogey against a birdie for a 37 and a 79.
It was a sorry round indeed for the Filipino junior players, who started the day just three behind the Thais after a decent 218 but will start today’s third round 16 strokes behind with a 445 aggregate and in fifth place in a field of six.
Led by reigning Vietnam Amateur Open champion Chanchok Dejpiratanamongkol and last year’s Thai Junior champion Pariwat Pinsawat’s 71s and Somprad Rattansuwan’s 72, Thailand pooled a 214 for a 429 and posted a 10-shot lead over new pursuers Indonesia, which assembled a 439, and Malaysia, which shot the day’s best output of 213, for 439s.
Singapore also bounced back from a 227 with a 215 to move up to fourth at 442, relegating the Philippines, which beat Thailand by four to win last year’s crown in Malaysia, to second-to-last.
Hong Kong even bettered the Phl’s second day effort with a 225 but remained in last at 462.
Meanwhile, the Santi Cup team of Dottie Ardina, Chihiro Ikeda, Andie Unson and Jayvie Agojo, and the Putra Cup squad of John Kier Abdon, Art Arbole, Zanie Boy Gialon and Lloyd Go were still playing at presstime.
Ikeda, the reigning Philippine Ladies Open champion, fired a three-under 32 after nine holes while Ardina, the top scorer in the first round with a 68, had an even par card while Unson had a one-over for the ICTSI-backed ladies team, which led Thailand by three after 18 holes.
The Putra Cup team, dead last after the first round of the Putra Cup, remained in the cellar at 443 after a 222 as Zanie Boy Gialon hit a 71, Lloyd Go groped with a 75 and Art Arbole made a 76. They stood 19 shots off new leader Hong Kong, which fired a 207 for a 424, one ahead of erstwhile leader Indonesia, which shot a 215 for a 425.
Malaysia moved up to third with a 427 after a 208 while Singapore dropped to fourth at 429 after a 214 followed by Myanmar (215-434) and defending champion Thailand (219-439).
The three-team Phl contingent’s campaign in the event is sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Phils. and supported by ICTSI and the Philippine Sports Commission. The coaches are Carito Villaroman (men’s), Bong Lopez (ladies) and Boyet Zaragoza (juniors) with NGAP’s head for golf development Tommy Manotoc as head of delegation.(pr)

Phl ladies eye breakthru in Santi Cup

Dottie Ardina and Dabawenya Chihiro Ikeda hope to dish out the game expected of them as the Philippines takes another crack at the Santi Cup, one of the three titles to be disputed in the Putra Cup, which gets going Monday at the Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club in Hong Kong.
Foiled in the first two editions of the event by the Thais, the Filipina golfers go all out this time with a strong roster that includes the two other spearheads of the ICTSI golf program – Andrea Unson and Jayvie Agojo.
The Phl ladies lost to the Thais by 11 strokes last year but are primed up for this week’s battle with ICTSI coach Bong Lopez expecting an explosive start for his star-studded crew.
“With their form and experience, I think we have a pretty good chance this year,” said Lopez.
Ikeda, the reigning Philippine Ladies Open champion, is coming off a victory in the Thailand Open and Selangor Open recently while Ardina, winner of this year’s Queen Sirikit individual crown, also ruled the recent San Diego Masters and made the finals of the US Girls Open.
Unson, on the other hand, is the reigning Philippine Amateur champion, while Agojo is the former Philippine Ladies Open champion who also won the New Zealand foursomes with Sarah Ababa.
The men's team, composed of Zanie Boy Gialon, Art Arbole, John Kier Abdon and LJ Go, also tries to end Thailand's domination of the Putra Cup, also known as the Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship. The Phl has not won the title since 1996 in Myanmar.
But focus will be on the junior squad, which sets out for a second straight championship in the Lion City Cup.
Led by Jobim Caros, the Phl held off Thailand's final round charge to win by four in Malaysia last year in a victory that made up for the men's and ladies squads' runner-up finishes in their respective events.
Reigning national champion Rupert Zaragoza will spearhead the squad this time in lieu of Carlos with support to come from former national titlist and last year's members Clyde Mondilla and Andres Saldana and Gio Gandiongco.
The delegation, headed by Tommy Manotoc and coaches Carito Villaroman (men's) and Boyet Zaragoza (juniors) left yesterday with the teams hoping to get at least two practice rounds at the tough layout.
The Phl contingent’s stint is sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Phils. with NGAP president Leandro Mendoza expressing confidence of each team’s title chances in the four-to-play, three-to-count format event spread over four days.(pr)