TAIWAN – Setting out in calmer condition after battling it through brutal winds in the first two days, Princess Superal and Cyna Rodriguez had hoped of making a charge in the final round of the Party Golfers Ladies Open here Friday.
But they found the unreceptive greens of the National Golf Country Club too tough to handle and the top Pinay bets wavered and struggled in the $100,000 event ruled by 14-year-old Chia Yen Wu.
Superal flubbed a number of makeable birdie putts and muffed short par-putts, including a two-footer the par-5 No. 16 that saw her leave her head down for seconds in disbelief. That marred her closing one-over 73 and typified their day-long struggle on the sloping surface.
From joint eighth with Rodriguez and four others after 36 holes, the former US Girls Junior champion wound up tied at 16th at 218 with three others in the first co-sanctioned event by the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour abroad with the Taiwan LPGA.
The two circuits will next joint stage the Philippine Ladies Masters in February.
“Just couldn’t make the putts…the greens are really difficult to read,” said Superal who ended up with 34 putts for a two-birdie, three-bogey one-over card.
Worse was Rodriguez, who made quite a surge with a tough 72 in wild conditions Thursday to fuel hopes of her title bid. But she struggled with 37 putts despite playing pressure-free with Superal and Taiwanese Chen Mi-Jou and wound up with five bogeys and a double bogey with only a birdie to show for a 78 that dropped her to joint 39th at 233.
But Chia showed the elite pro field how to tackle the challenging layout, finishing with a second straight 71 and nipping a charging Babe Liu by one to win the crown on a seven-under 209 total, matching fellow amateur Hsin Yu Lu’s feat in the Kenda Tire TLPGA Open where she beat Thai Supamas Sangchan by three at Taifong Golf Club last week.
Liu sizzled sans the wind from fifth-to-last flight, ramming in four straight birdies from No. 2 for a 31 then adding three more birdies at the back to shoot the tournament-best eight-under 64. But she fell short of foiling Chia although the TLPGA’s No. 5 took the top purse of $18,000 with the 14-year-old junior high student taking the championship crown.
Mia Piccio, who barely made the cut at 153 after a 76 and 77, showed her true worth and gunned down five birdies against two bogeys for a 69, charging from the back of the pack to joint 35th at 222.
Daniella Uy, on the other hand, carded a 73 for a 224 as she ended up tied at 45th in her fourth tournament as a pro.