Too soon for Dottie to fret

SACRAMENTO, California—Dottie Ardina floundered again last weekend in her third foray into the US Ladies Professional Golf Association.

She missed the cut in the 2014 Marathon Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.

Veteran campaigner Jennifer Rosales, the only other Filipino on the LPGA circuit, the premier women’s professional sports league in the world, tied for the 25th spot and earned $11,950 (about P525,800). The Marathon Classic is Rosales’ 14th tournament for the season.

The 21-year-old Ardina also missed the cut in the Airbus LPGA Classic at Magnolia Grove, Crossings Course in Mobile, Alabama, and the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Virginia, that were played in May.

But the Filipino rookie should look ahead to a bright future to gain poise, maturity and confidence to score that first breakthrough victory in the LPGA, the lucrative tour known for churning out young golfing millionaires.

Ardina’s entry in the LPGA is rooted in tangible credentials. She qualified for a Tour card on her first try by earning a provisional category-17 status for the 2014 season after a scintillating career as a junior golfer.

She was a finalist at the 2011 US Girls Junior Championship, a five-time winner of the US Kids Golf Championships and a three-time winner of the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships.

Ardina need not search far and wide for par-busting paragons who faced hurdles but finally turned their potential into reality.

Rosales, her 35-year-old compatriot, is a former US NCAA champion while playing for the University of Southern California. She joined the LPGA Tour in 2000 and did not get her first victory until 2004 and her second the following year.

Rosales has not won a tournament since, but her steady game and top-10 appearances through the years have resulted in earnings of $2.8 million.

And then there is Michelle Wie, one of the most publicized golfers of all time.

The 24-year-old Wie finally delivered a feat worthy of the hype heaped on her since she was 13 years old by winning the US Women’s Open at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in North Carolina last month.

The Open is Wie’s first major championship after 11 years on and off the LPGA Tour. She now has four career tour victories and earnings of over $4 million.

It has been a roller-coaster ride for Wie who completed her transformation from a young phenom to teen bust to first-time major winner—for all aspiring champions, including Ardina, to ponder.

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Gerard Marcelo, one of four sons of my late buddy, Bert “Tawa” Marcelo, reports that a book on his dad is available at National Bookstore outlets.

Written by Au S. Dimalanta with a foreword from Gerard, the book titled “Bert Tawa Marcelo: A Life in Brief” chronicles the comedian’s amazing show business journey cut short by his untimely death at age 59 on Dec. 16, 1995.

Go get a copy of the book about a true master of his craft. Bert’s story is well worth retelling over and over again.