Piccio leads Pinays bid in US Amateur

MANILA, Philippines - Mia Piccio matched par 72 while four other Filipina bets stood well within target in the US Women’s Amateur Championship which got under way with the first of the 36-hole stroke play elims at the Charlotte Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina Monday.

Piccio, coming off a victory in the Trans Am tournament last week in Nebraska, bucked the long, uphill 37-35 layout with steady driving, finishing with a one-birdie, one-bogey for nines of 36-36 and a share of 16th place with 11 others.

Her three other ICTSI-backed teammates turned in decent rounds with Sarah Ababa carding a 73 for joint 29th and Lovelynn Guioguio sharing 39th place with a 74.

Andie Unson, with two victories in the US Juniors in San Diego and in Optimist International in Florida last month, struggled a bit with three bogeys in a birdie-less round as she hobbled in joint 56th heading into the last day of the qualifier.

The 64 players from the starting field of 155 will advance to the match play phase starting Wednesday.

Beverly Mendoza, the other RP bet, also shot a 73.

“The key to playing well in this course is to drive the ball well and avoid the fairway rough. The greens are very tricky and it’s important to place the ball in the proper part of the surface,” said ICTSI team coach Bong Lopez.

Piccio made a four-foot birdie putt on No. 2 but three-putted from 20 feet on the 18th, Ababa hit birdies on Nos. 14 and 17 inside five feet but had missed-green bogeys on Nos. 4, 10 and 15, Guioguio birdied the par-5 sixth but dropped shots on Nos. 10, 11 and 13.

“With severe undulations of the greens, it’s very hard to make birdies even if they hit it close to the pin. Very seldom will they get a flat putt,” said Lopez.

But Rachel Rohanna of Pennsylvania made it look easy with a course-setting 65 from nine birdies against two bogeys as she zeroed in on the low medal honors.

She leads Brooke Pancake, carding a 68, by three and four shots clear of Doris Chen, winner of the US Girls Juniors tournament last week who had a 69.