Del Rosario slips to 3rd as Thai aces sizzle at dusk

MANILA, Philippines – Big-hitting Pauline del Rosario, due for a big outing following a string of mediocre finishes on the Epson Tour and elsewhere, did just that Wednesday, firing a stirring six-under par 66 in the morning wave of the Thailand LPGA Masters at the Black Mountain Golf Club in Prachuap Khiri Khan in southern Thailand.

But local aces Patcharajutar Kongkraphan and Kusuma Meechai came in with a pair of solid 64 and 65 rounds, respectively, at dusk, dropping the Filipina shotmaker to solo third instead after 18 holes of the THB4 million championship, the closing leg of this year’s 10-stage Thai LPGA Tour.

Del Rosario spiked her near-impeccable start with a three-birdie binge from No. 10 as she finished with four more birdies against a lone bogey on No. 7 for a 34-32 round.

The former Ladies Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit winner is actually on a break from the LPGA Tour farm league following a tied for 18th finish in the inaugural Asia Pacific Cup in Jakarta won by ICTSI teammate Princess Superal in smashing fashion last month.

“She needs her passport stamped by the US Embassy for P-1 Visa (Prof Athletes Visa),” said del Rosario’s dad and mentor Bong. “But the long hitters and seasoned Thai players were playing in the afternoon wave, so we’ll see if she holds up.”

She didn’t as the in-form Kongkraphan, winner of the SAT-TWT Open 2022 Road to World Ranking last week, flashed awesome form to fire eight birdies, including on the last three holes at the front for a 31-33, and Meechai also shot seven birdies for a 33-32, as they wrested the 1-2 posts.

But del Rosario stood just a stroke behind, missing joining the Thai duo with a flubbed birdie putt on the closing par-5 hole.

“I wanted to go low but didn’t expect it initially,” said the younger del Rosario, who actually came through with solid iron and wedge shots to set up birdie opportunities from close range at the front.

She rolled in a five-footer on No. 1, made a tap-in feat on the next and buried a three-footer on No. 6. She holed out a “good” bogey on the next, saying: “My ball stopped on the edge of the bunker. It was an awkward position, so I had to punch out and missed my up-and-down.”

She then wielded a hotter putter at the back to get into early contention.

“I had good putts that just fell from 10-12 feet,” added del Rosario, who birdied No. 10 from 9 feet, rolled in a six-footer on the 11th and drained a 12-footer on the 12th and a 15-footer on No. 17.

Chanelle Avaricio, meanwhile, bucked a wobbly backside start with a scorching frontside rally, closing out with four birdies to save a 69 for joint sixth with a slew of others, just three strokes off del Rosario.

Avaricio, the current Order of Merit leader with three victories in this year’s LPGT who also made the grade in the LPGA Q-School Stage I last month in California, fell off the standing with a bogey-birdie-double bogey start. But after a run of pars, she birdied the par-5 18th and rode on that feat by birdying Nos. 2, 3, 6 and 8 as she bounced back into early contention.

Superal, 25, was also set to play this week but withdrew at the last minute for a much-deserved rest and at the same time prepare for her Korean stint this month. 

A host of others turned in identical 67s, including Kornkanok Sungpankhao, Aunchisa Utama, Cholcheva Wongras and former LPGA Tour campaigner Sherman Santiwiwattanaphong, who ruled the recent Thailand Mixed.