Superal, Del Rosario back in Faldo finals

National team standouts Princess Superal and Pauline del Rosario topped their respective divisions as expected to book return trips to the Asia Grand Final of the Faldo Series Asia after the recent Philippine qualifier at Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Trece Martires City, Cavite.

Del Rosario cruised to victory in the girls’ Under 21 after rounds of 75, 70 and 73 for 218 while del Rosario (79-72-74-225) survived a scare with a six-shot rally in the final round to capture the girls’ Under 16 of the 54-hole event that kicked off a series of qualifiers around Asia and the Pacific.

Del Rosario and Superal, who completed a 1-2 finish in the Girls’ division in the 2014 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, led this year’s batch of qualifiers in five age groups for boys and four for girls.

Also among those who qualified for the grand finals to be held in March 2015 are boys’ division winners Jan Philippe de Claro (under 21), Justin Quiban (under 18), Kristoffer Arevalo (under 16), Riggs Illescas (11-12 years) and Sean Granada (9-10 years) and the two other girls’ winners-Mariel Tee (11-12) and Burberry Zhang (9-10).

De Claro finished three strokes ahead of Kevin Saclot, Quiban beat Rogelio Roque by nine, Arevalo turned back Dan Cruz by two, Granada wound up 24 shots ahead of Miguel Ilas and David Guangko while Illescas went four up on Perry Bucay.

Del Rosario fashioned the comeback effort of the competition when she scored a 74 in the final round to overcome a six-shot deficit against Sofia Chabon, who soared to an 80.

Established in 1996, 40 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in 30 countries worldwide with more than 7,000 golfers participating each year.

Past winners include Major champions Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng.

In September 2014, Faldo will begin taking students to a full-time academy for golf development in America.