Pinays slip to T-28th with 151 in World Amateur Golf Team Championship

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines improved by two strokes at the tough Le Golf National with a 151 but dropped two spots back to joint 28th and out of the title hunt in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Team Championship now led by Germany in France Friday.

Mafy Singson bogeyed four of the first six holes at the back but still emerged as the team’s top scorer with a three-over 74 as two-day lead player Mikha Fortuna lost steam with a 77 and Lois Kaye Go failed to count for the second straight day with a 79.

With a 448 aggregate after three rounds that included a first round 144 at the par-72 Le Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretéche layout, the Filipinas fell 33 strokes behind Germany, which put in the tournament-best 136 at LGN for a 415 total, now four strokes clear of defending champion the United States and surprise contender Taiwan.

Behind Ting Hsuan Huang’s 67 and Hsin Chun Liao’s 70, also at LGN, the Taiwanese assembled a 137 and tied the US at 419.

World No. 1 amateur Rose Zhang fired a 69 and Rachel Kuehn carded a 71 for the Americans’ 140 at LGN.

Erstwhile leader Sweden tumbled to fourth with a 420 after a 143 at Saint-Nom-la-Bretéche.

Singson checked her early skid with birdies on Nos. 18 and 3 but dropped two strokes in the next four holes before holing out with a birdie for a 36-38 card.

Fortuna, who fired a 71 at Le Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretéche layout but faltered with a 75 at LGN, had a one-birdie, one-bogey card after 8 holes but made a triple-bogey on the 18th and never recovered.

She bogeyed Nos. 2 and 4 and failed to match Singson’s closing birdie with an even worst bogey windup for a 39-38.

Go birdied the 11th but fumbled with two double bogeys and two bogeys against another birdie for a backside 39. She did hit two birdies at the front but made two double bogeys and two bogeys for a 40.

Team Philippines also lay too far behind in individual play, now paced by Germany’s Helen Briem, with Fortuna at tied 53rd with 223, Singson at joint 89th with 229 and Go way off at tied 116th in a field of 167 with 234.

Briem stormed ahead with a 207 after a 66 as she and Alexandra Fosterling, who shot a 70, led Germany’s 136 in the pivotal round of the 72-hole championship. But Liao is just a shot behind at 208 and Swede Meja Ortengren and the Netherlands Anne-Sterre den Dunnen matched 209s after a 72 and 67, respectively.