Final hole birdie seals it
SILANG, Cavite, Philippines – Amateur Abby Arevalo won it by the thinnest of margins and by the most dramatic of golf’s finishes – a birdie on the final hole.
Arevalo fired the shot that could easily be tabbed the highlight of the three-day ICTSI Riviera Ladies Championship – a 6-iron fairway shot that rested 10 feet from the cup on the 18th hole for the birdie and a one-stroke victory over Pauline del Rosario with a closing 70 card.
“I couldn’t believe I won,” said the 18-year-old Arevalo, groping for words while trying to savor her biggest victory in a young amateur career.
“I never expected the putt would be for the win. But I really made a good read of it,” added Arevalo, who has also posted a number of victories abroad as member of Team ICTSI.
That birdie capped Arevalo’s 70 for a one-over 214 aggregate, frustrating Del Rosario after the back-to-back Ladies Philippine Golf Tour winner braced for a playoff after drawing level at two-over overall following Arevalo’s flubbed three-footer for par on the 17th.
But the San Jose State University standout had other things in mind.
Unleashing a power drive off the 18th mound, Arevalo bucked the gnawing pressure and followed it up with a solid approach shot despite hitting it over a bad spot.
Del Rosario also hit a good drive and made it in two but missed her birdie putt from 15 feet. She wound up with a 72 and finished second at 215 although she still pocketed the top purse of P150,000.
With erstwhile joint leader Thai Saruttaya Ngam-usan failing to recover from a double-bogey mishap on No. 2, Arevalo took the challenger’s role – and the lead – with an impressive 34 start, moving 2-up as Del Rosario fumbled with a 37.
An Arevalo bogey on the 11th and a Del Rosario birdie on the next tied the duo at one-over overall but regained the lead on the latter’s bogey on No. 14. A missed par putt by Arevalo from close range on the 17th, however, enabled Del Rosario to gain a share of the lead again.
Arevalo thus became the first amateur to win on the circuit this year after three players in the ranks racked up victories last year, including teammate Bernice Ilas-Olivarez (Beverly Place), Yuka Saso (Eagle Ridge) and Harmie Constantino (Mt. Malarayat).
Del Rosario rued her double-bogey on No. 2 that proved crucial to her title bid.
“All the rest was okay except for my mistake on No. 2. And the final putt of Abby? I can’t do anything about it,” said Del Rosario, who snapped a pair of heartbreakers to score her breakthrough win at Orchard before dominating the Baguio field and taking another tough setback.
Thai Chatprapa Siriprakob matched par 71 and finished third at 217 worth P95,000 while reigning Philippine Ladies Open champion Bianca Pagdanganan finally broke par at the par-71 ravine-laced layout, closing out with a 70 and snaring fourth place at 220.
Ngam-usan, tied with Del Rosario after 36 holes, succumbed to pressure and tough condition early and limped with a backside 43 and an 80. She tumbled to fifth at 223.
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