Nemittra Juntanaket hits paydirt, tops LPGT Malarayat

LIPA City, Batangas, Philippines — Nemittra Juntanaket cracked into the elite circle of Ladies Philippine Golf Tour winners in big fashion, closing out with a gutsy even-par 72 for a runaway six-stroke triumph over fellow Thai Pimpadsorn Sangkagaro in the ICTSI Mt. Malarayat Ladies Classic here yesterday.

Barely hanging to a one-shot lead over Sangkagaro with a scrambling 73 Thursday, Juntanaket tried to settle the issue early with birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 only to hobble with three bogeys in a six-hole stretch from No. 6, enabling the rest of the best to close in again.

But she quickly dashed their hopes with a birdie on the 12th as she built another three-stroke cushion over her nearest pursuer – and with no one able to put up a strong finish, the 22-year-old Pha-Yao native rolled to a whopping six-stroke triumph on a 216 total she spiked with another birdie on the difficult closing hole. It was her first win in her two-year stint in the country’s premier circuit and second overall after ruling the Pan Thai Open in 2017.

“Had a good game and hung tough out there,” said Juntanaket, who actually launched her bid in the P750,000 event put up by ICTSI with a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 No. 1 on a lost ball off a wild drive on a rolling championship course that offers several options off the mound and requires precision to get the good landing spots on its undulating, tricky surface that shattered the bids of many a contender, including local ace Princess Superal.

But what came next was a series of well thought out shots as she produced three birdies in the last six holes to wrest control with a 72 after 18 holes then held sway in the next round despite a 73 marred by two bogeys in the last three holes to hang to a one-shot edge over Sangkagaro.