Rodriguez opens 4-shot cushion

With a superlative effort on Wack Wack West’s unpredictable greens, Cyna Rodriguez fired a 3-under-par 69 yesterday to open up a four-stroke lead over Mia Piccio heading into the final round of the ICTSI Ladies’ Tour’s third leg.

Rodriguez gunned down the last of her five birdies on the 18th to cap the only sub-par card for the day that gave her a 36-hole 139 aggregate and a formidable buffer over Piccio, who matched par.

Amateur Princess Superal was third,  but trailed by 10 shots after a 73.

“I have the lead, and that’s good,” the well-built Rodriguez said after moving on the threshold of duplicating Dottie Ardina’s feat in the pilot tournament.

Should she go all the way today, Rodriguez will be 2-for-2 in her first events as a pro like Ardina, who prevailed at the Country Club and Canlubang legs before flying to the United States to try and qualify to the LPGA Tour.

“Anything can still happen,” said Piccio, the Bacolod native who, unlike Rodriguez, had a difficult time on the greens.

More greens

Rodriguez hit just nine greens  but made the most out of the opportunities that came her way. She admitted, though, that she can’t be that unsteady in today’s final round.

“I just have to hit more greens,” Rodriguez said.

Chihiro Ikeda, the former PH team spearhead, struggled for the second straight round and submitted another 75 for 150. She’s out of it all like the seasoned Jayvie Agojo, who returned a 73 for 151.

Amateur Felicia Medalla fired a 76 for 153, three up on Del Monte bet Apple Fudolin, who skied to an 81 after opening up with a 75 on Tuesday.

The 54-hole event is being backed by Nike Golf, Pacsports, Gatorade, Sharp and Custom Clubmakers.