Ikeda bags crown in Johor Am

MANILA, Philippines - Chihiro Ikeda added the Johor Amateur Open crown to her growing list of victories this year, outlasting ICTSI teammate Jayvie Agojo in a final day showdown under brutal condition at the Johor Golf Club in Malaysia Saturday.

Ikeda, tied with Agojo and just one stroke ahead of local bet Nur Durriyay at the start of the final round, fumbled with a four-over 76 but still won by five shots as the rest struggled on the long layout made more daunting by the testy pin placements.

Ikeda, Agojo and a couple of others had four putts each to typify the field’s ordeal as organizers moved the tee boxes farther and strategically placed the pins barely 2-3 paces in front, forcing the players to go for position on the green on their approach shots.

In fact, the Filipinos bets had deliberately played it short to get a chance for an up-and-down rather than putt from above the hole.

But Ikeda proved up to the task, pouncing on Agojo’s foldup midway through while hitting her lone birdie on on No. 3 against three bogeys and a double-bogey from a four-putt miscue. Counting her earlier 75 and 71 rounds, the SEA Games gold medalist pooled a 222 and added the title to her trophy cabinet that included the Philippine Ladies and the Southern Ladies and the Thailand Amateur Open titles this year.

Agojo, who teamed up with Sarah Ababa to win the New Zealand Foursomes crown recently, never recovered from a string of missed green bogeys on Nos. 4, 7 and 9 and a four-putt double bogey on No. 8 as she dropped four more shots at the back for a birdie-less 81 and a 227.

“It was close in the early going but Jayvie was never the same after she four-putted No. 8 from 15 feet as she bogeyed the next four and trailed by five from there,” said ICTSI coach Bong Lopez.

With Durriyay hobbling with an 84 and slipping to fourth at 231, Vivian Chin, also of Malaysia, shot the day’s best score of even par 72, snatching third place honors with a 230.