Bianca, Thai ace favored in golf
MANILA, Philippines — The highly anticipated duel of golf’s most decorated players in the 30th SEA Games will have to wait a little longer but with just a flight separating them, Thai ace Atthaya Thitikul will literally have a vantage view of how good and solid Bianca Pagdanganan is.
The Asian Games bronze medalist and LPGA Tour-bound Filipina drew an 8:35 a.m. flight with Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Le Hoang Ngo of Vietnam on No. 10 as anchor of the Phl women’s side that also includes Lois Kaye Go and Abby Arevalo with Thitikul, the reigning world No. 1 in the ranks, just behind in the 8:45 a.m. group.
But the two main stars have time and again downplayed their looming face-off for the women’s individual gold, maintaining “all players are contenders” although their credentials could be too impressive not to be given weight in this kind of top-notch competition in one of the country’s toughest courses.
All 55 players, including 38 in men’s division, actually brace for a tougher, challenging start today, wary not only of each other’s strength and skills but also of the weather that could disrupt the conduct of the event at the Luisita Golf and Country Club.
Though most teams were able to play their practice rounds yesterday, some were holed up in their quarters at the Athletes Village in New Clark City in nearby Capas due to stormy weather conditions.
But the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore, all housed in nearby hotels, made the most of their opportunity to further hone up under drizzle and are all ready and raring to launch their respective drives in the men’s and women’s individual play of the 54-hole tournament.
The match play, on the other hand, is set this weekend with the first round featuring 20 matches. The final round will be 10 matches.
While Thailand has hinted at sweeping all four gold medals after winning three the last time out in Kuala Lumpur, the hosts have vowed to foil them as they seek to atone for the country’s lone bronze medal finish in 2017. The local bets also hope to cash in on their local knowledge of the exacting Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed course where terrors lurk in every corner.
“We aim to make a clean sweep,” said Thailand Golf Association president Rangsrid Luxitanond. “Our players had trained for a long time. And we have picked our best players, who have been training together since late last year (except for the US-based players).”
But Pagdanganan said it will all boil down to “a good game plan” with the Gonzaga U product upbeat of the country’s chances against a field teeming with talent.
“I’m with LK (Go), who was my teammate in the Asian Games, and Abby (Arevalo), who is a very experienced player as well,” said Pagdanganan, who also won the Philippine Ladies Open crown in record fashion at Wack Wack in 2017. “I feel confident because I know they play solid golf.”
Go, who helped anchor the Phl’s gold medal romp in last year’s Asian Games with Pagdanganan and individual gold medalist Yuka Saso, and who bagged the lone bronze in the last SEAG, opens her bid against Ashley Menne of Singapore and Xuan Minh Doan of Vietnam, while Arevalo tows the Phl side as she tees off at 8:15 a.m. in a duel with Suanne Loh of Singapore.
Thitikul, the first amateur to win a Ladies European Tour event in 2017 and winner of the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific last year, begins her quest against Ida Melati Putri of Indonesia and Malaysia’s Ashley Lau, while teammates Kan Bunnabodee and Pimnipa Panthong square off with Ribka Vania and Putri Abdulghany, and Patricia Sinolungan and Natasha Oon, respectively.
While pundits predict a Pagdanganan-Thitikul duel for the gold, the Filipina ace insisted: “Every player is a possible contender, so we just have to do our own thing and play our best.”
The country is also hoping the men’s squad, made up of Aidric Chan, Carl Corpuz, Sean Ramos and Luis Castro, would turn in a solid start individually for the momentum needed in the 54-hole tournament expected to be tight and fierce in one of the country’s toughest championship courses. – Dante Navarro
“They have a solid team as well,” said Pagdanganan of the Phl’s men’s squad also bracing for a fierce showdown with the Thais and the Singaporeans, among others.
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