Davao's Ikeda, 3 others advance; Ardina, Agojo out

Chihiro Ikeda matched par 71 and safely made it to the match play phase of the US Women's Amateur Championship at the Rhode Island Country Club in Rhode Island Monday.
Cyna Rodriguez, Andie Unson and Sarah Ababa, another Dabawenya, also advanced to the knockout stage of the premier event but Dottie Ardina and Jayvie Agojo failed to make the 64-player cut with a pair of three-over 74s.
Ikeda, the reigning Philippine Ladies Open champion and spearhead of the ICTSI-backed squad, hit two birdies against the same number of bogeys to emerge the top Filipina finisher at joint 18th with Unson with a 143.
But the reigning Thailand, Johor and Royal Selangor Open champion drew Ababa as her first round opponent in match play Wednesday.
Ababa shot a second straight 73 for a 146.
Unson, who with Rodriguez turned in similar 70s in the first round of the 36-hole stroke play elims among 156 entries, slowed down with a 73 and set up a duel with Julie Yang.
Rodriguez, on the other hand, carded a 74 and wound up joint 27th. She faces Amy Anderson in the first round of the knockout stage.
Ji Hee Kim of Korea shot a one-under 70 to win the low medal honors with a 136, nipping New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who sizzled with a 66, in the countback.
Ardina, meanwhile, failed to recover from a first round score of 77, finishing with a 151 after a 74, for a share of 80th, while Agojo ended up joint 69th after a 74 and a 150.(PR)

Ardina, Davao's Ikeda upbeat of US Am bid

Dottie Ardina and Davao City native Chihiro Ikeda head the six-player ICTSI-Philippines roster vying in this year’s US Women’s Amateur Championship, hopeful of their chances against the world’s leading players in the event firing off Aug. 8 in Rhode Island.
The team, which also includes former Philippine Ladies Open champions Jayvie Agojo and Cyna Rodriguez, Andie Unson and Dabawenya Sarah Ababa, found the par-71 Rhode Island Country Club layout tough when it had its first practice round Saturday but remained upbeat two days before the event.
“The course has been set up like in a US Open event with thick roughs and sleek putting surface,” said ICTSI team coach Bong Lopez. “But the team is ready and in high spirits.”
The ICTSI-backed Filipinas spent the whole of Sunday at the range, hitting at varied distances.
“Driving will be the key, they must put their ball on the fairway to have any chance of reaching the green in regulation,” added Lopez.
No Filipina has ever come close to a title shot since former national team mainstay Dorothy Delasin won in 1999 at the Biltmore Forest Country Club in North Carolina with Rodriguez dropping out of the Last 16 stage in 2009.
A total of 156 players vie in the 36-hole stroke play competition with the top 64 advancing to the match play phase.
Ardina, the reigning Queen Sirikit Cup individual champion, has been seeded into the event with a runner-up finish in the recent US Girls Am. She also placed second in the Optimist International last month.
The rest earned their seats through qualifiers with Ikeda, the reigning Philippines Ladies Open champion, making it in York, Pennsylvania, Rodriguez and Agojo in Denver, Unson in California and Ababa in Hawaii.(pr)

Members of the ICTSI-Team Phl (from left) Andie Unson, Jayvie Agojo, Dottie Ardina, Cyna Rodriguez, Sarah Ababa and Chihiro Ikeda pose during a break in practice for the US Women’s Amateur Championship.