Pinays settle for 30th as Sweden edges US for crown in World Amateur Golf Team Championship

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines struggled on its return to Le Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretéche, pooling a 150 and ending up at 30th in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Team Championship won by Sweden via tiebreak over the United States in France Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).

Mikha Fortuna matched her 71 card at the par-72 layout where they combined for a decent 144 to start at joint 11th Wednesday but Lois Kaye Go hobbled with a 79 after a 73 and the Philippines finished with a 598 total that included rounds of 153 and 151 at the tougher par-71 Le Golf National course.

Mafy Singson, who got into the scoring act at LGN in the middle rounds, bogeyed the first five holes at the back and failed to count with an 82.

But Fortuna proved to be a big revelation for Team Phl, which placed 10th the last time it played in the biennial event in Japan in 2014 on a team built around Pauline del Rosario, Princess Superal and Clare Amelia Legaspi. The Univ. of Oklahoma mainstay, a last-minute substitute for Rianne Malixi, had kept her consistent play in all four days, opening with a gutsy 71 then leading the team’s charge at Le Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretéche despite a 75.

Singson took charge in their second stint at Saint-Norm with a 74 but Fortuna still counted in the three-to-play, two-to-count event despite a 77.

She had so much hopes in the final round after a two-birdie, one-bogey backside start and went two-under with another birdie on No. 5. But she failed to gain a stroke on the par-5 seventh then missed rescuing a par on the next for a 36-35.

Go, on the other hand, fumbled with four bogeys against a lone birdie early one and failed to recover at the front, limping with four more bogeys for a 40 and a 79.

Meanwhile, Swede foiled the US’ back-to-back title bid with a closing 139 at Saint-Norm as it tied the defending champion, which scored a 140, at 559.

But the Swedes won the Espirito Santo Trophy for the third time on a tiebreak, winning it after comparing non-counting scores – a 73 from Lousie Rydqvist against Rachel Kuehn’s 74.

Sweden, which also won in 2004 in Puerto Rico and in 2008 in Australia, thus took the gold medal with the US settling for silver and Germany and Japan shared the bronze with identical 560s.

Although there was no official recognition in individual play, Meja Ortengren (70) of Sweden, Germany’s Helen Briem (72) and American world No. 1 Rose Zhang (69) shared top honors with 279s.

Fortuna wound up tied at 42nd with a 294 while Singson finsihed at joint 106th with 311 and Go wound up at joint 113rd in a field of 164 with a 313.

Meanwhile, men’s action blasts off Wednesday for the Eisenhower Trophy with Aidric Chan, Carl Corpus and Jet Hernandez out to better the Philippines’ 47th place finish in Japan eight years ago.