Thai eyes repeat win at Malarayat

MANILA, Philippines — Thai Onkanok Soisuwan sets out for another crack at the crown at the same course where she scored a breakthrough win last year, headlining the cast in the ICTSI Mt. Malarayat Ladies Classic which gets under way tomorrow in Lipa City, Batangas.

Soiwusan marked her pro debut at Mt. Malarayat’s composite course with a wire-to-wire seven-stroke romp over Filipina amateur Mikha Fortuna last year although she struggled in her succeeding stints on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, including a missed cut at Pradera Verde Classic, which also served as part of LPGA Tour of Taiwan, last month.

But for sure, she’ll be coming into the 54-hole champion well-motivated but hard-pressed to duplicate her feat given the strength of the field, both from the local aces and the compact roster of other foreign bidders in the P750,000 tournament serving as the 10th leg of the seventh season of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour put up by ICTSI.

They include rising Korean star Hwang Min Jeong, who humbled a stellar pro field to reign here as an amateur in 2015. She has actually joined the pro ranks last year and marked it by winning the Splendido Classic last January.

That makes the chase for top honors in the 54-hole event doubly interesting with Cyna Rodriguez, the former three-time Order of Merit winner, also heralding her return to action following a long hiatus due to health woes.

Backing Soisuwan are compatriots Chouvarest Chourkittisopon, Numa Gulyanamitta, Nimmita Juntanaket, Ajira Nualraksa, Sangkagaro Pimpadsorn and Poomklay Preenaphan with Kang Da Yun and Kwon Taeyon joining Hwang in the Korean roster.

With Princess Superal, winner of the last LPGT leg at John Hay, back in the Japan LPGA Step Up Tour, former leg winners Chihiro Ikeda and Sarah Ababa back Rodriguez to keep the crown at home along with Alex Etter, Apple Fudolin, Pamela Mariano, Sheryl Villacencio and Marvi Monsalve.