Ardina crumbles, ends up tied at 17th in Casino del Sol Golf Classic

MANILA, Philippines – Dottie Ardina cracked when the going got tough, fumbling with a birdie-less 76 to finish joint 17th in the Casino del Sol Golf Classic won by Andrea Lee in a three-hole playoff duel with fellow American Lucy Li in Tuczon, Arizona Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).

Just a stroke behind Lee after 54 holes, Ardina struggled trying to find her rhythm and touch that had marked her remarkable run in the first three rounds (68-65-69) at the Sewailo Golf Club, snapping a par-game with a bogey on No. 7 and yielding another stroke on No. 11.

Running out of holes, the ICTSI-backed shotmaker looked poised to finishing with a two-over card but stumbled with a double-bogey on the par-4 17th and ended up with a 37-39. From joint second with Li, the Filipina ace fell to a share of 17th at 278 and settled for $2,717.

She finished eight strokes behind Lee and Li, who finished tied at 270 after a 69 and 68, respectively. But after drawing level in the first two playoff holes, Lee made a par on the third sudden death hole to win it.

Li birdied four of the last eight holes to fire a 33 and 68 and force a playoff while Lee spiked her own solid finish with birdies on Nos. 15 and 18 for a 33-36.

Fil-Am Clariss Guce, meanwhile, shot five birdies, including on the last hole, as she bucked two bogeys for a 69 and finished ahead of Ardina at joint 14th at 277. She pocketed $3,146.

Pauline del Rosario, on the other hand, finally found the form she had been searching for in a long while, rattling off five birdies in the first eight holes before settling for pars the rest of the way for a bogey-free 67.

She gained a 20-spot jump from joint 69th and though her share of 49th place at 285 was nothing to brag about, her sizzling finish should fire her up all the more when the next Epson Tour leg, the Copper Rock Championship, is held April 21-23 in Hurricane, Utah.