Guce rallies to 70 as rain halts Guardian Championship

MANILA, Philippines -- Clariss Guce overcame a shaky start and increasingly difficult wet conditions to fire a two-under 70 on Friday (Saturday Manila time). 

She put herself within striking distance of the leaders in the rain-hit Guardian Championship at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill’s Senator Course in Prattville, Alabama.

Guce, seeking to turn around a string of underwhelming results on the Epson Tour, recovered from an early bogey with a timely birdie surge and a string of steady pars to join six others in a provisional share of 12th place.

Play was suspended by heavy rain with only a handful of players able to complete their opening rounds. Lauryn Nguyen of the United States and China’s Michelle Zhang took advantage of the playable conditions earlier in the day, matching five-under 67s to seize a provisional one-stroke lead over Americans Becca Huffer and Sarah White, who carded identical 68s.

Starting on the back nine, Guce stumbled with a bogey on the par-4 No. 11 but quickly regained her footing, birdieing Nos. 13 and 14. She then settled into a stretch of pars as the rain intensified and conditions became increasingly demanding.

Guce capped her round with another birdie on the par-5 eighth, completing a pair of 35s for her 70.

The provisional standings are expected to undergo significant changes once the rest of the field completes its opening round.

Bianca Pagdanganan, who is gearing up for the Asian Games later this month, opened with a birdie on the 10th but gave the shot back with a bogey on the next hole. She then parred the next four holes before play was suspended.

Pauline del Rosario, who will join ICTSI stablemate Pagdanganan on the Philippine team for this year’s Asiad in Aichi-Nagoya, opened with three straight pars before the weather interruption.

Dottie Ardina was one over after six holes, all played on the back nine, following a bogey on No. 12.

Tomi Arejola, meanwhile, endured a difficult stretch after opening with a double bogey on the challenging 12th. She bounced back with a birdie on No. 14 but dropped another shot on the par-5 No. 17 before play was halted, leaving her with 10 holes still to complete.