Superal cruises to record 16-shot victory

Princess Superal is the queen of the Highlands fairways.

When Princess Superal gains momentum, she zooms away to victory.

Flashing the form that enabled her to beat pros as an amateur, Superal carded a tournament-best three-under-par 67 Friday to rule the ICTSI Tagaytay Highlands Ladies Challenge by a record 16 strokes over compatriot Cyna Rodriguez in Tagaytay.

Counting her 71 and 69 earlier, Superal pooled a three-under 207 and humbled the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour field that included Thais and Koreans.

With Superal ahead by seven after the front nine, Rodriguez tried to mount a charge only to fall behind farther with bogeys on holes 12, 13, 14 and 17 for a 75 that gave her a 223 and a five-shot spread over first day leader Chihiro Ikeda, who skied to a birdie-less 83 and 228.

“I’ve waited for this for so long and I’m very, very happy to have finally put it all together and won again,” said Superal, who settled for top five finishes since her last victory in 2016 at Eastridge.

“This will surely boost my confidence in my next tournaments,” added Superal, who erased the previous largest winning margin of 15 forged by Thai Meechai Wichanee at Splendido in 2015. —ROY LUARCA