Rodriguez blows field again at Malarayat

Cyna Rodriguez closed out with a flourish, shooting a six-under-par 66 yesterday in the ICTSI Mount Malarayat Classic with plenty to spare in Lipa City.

Rodriguez smoked the closing holes by going four under in a three-hole stretch as she left the rest of the ladies field in her wake to prevail in the tournament for the second time—and the third this season—with a 54-hole total of nine-under 207.

That hot string started after Rodriguez came off a bogey on the 15th. She gunned down two straight birdies before canning a 30-foot putt for eagle on the 17th.

Rodriguez won by 10 shots over Thailand’s Amolkan Phalijavin, who closed out with a 71. She has ruled the last two events by a combined 21-shot margin.

Phalajivin had five birdies in a front-nine 33 to match Rodriguez, but she simply couldn’t keep in step. After creeping to within three with a birdie on the 15th that Rodriguez bogeyed, the Thai dropped two shots in her final four holes.

First-round leader Chihiro Ikeda fired a 73 and finished tied for third with the faltering Jayvie Agojo, who stumbled with a 76.

The chase for a breakthrough pro win on Philippine soil remained as Ikeda went six over in the final two days. She opened with a 71 on Wednesday and had a one-stroke lead over Rodriguez going into the second round.

Agojo, the champion two months ago at Riviera in Silang, Cavite, succumbed to pressure in the final nine, dropping five shots, including two double bogeys, to settle for a tie with Ikeda at 220.

Rodriguez was flawless in her opening nine, shooting a 33 before dropping that shot on the 15th. But she rebounded from that with grim determination and finished everyone off in the same manner that she did at Camp John Hay in Baguio.

Korean expatriate Seo Yon-kwon finished with a 224 tally after closing out with a 76, while Lovelyn Guioguio was another shot back after a 74.

Anya Tanpinco was the third and last player to crack par, submitting a 71 for 226, with Sarah Ababa carding a 78 for 228.

The event was backed by Nike, Pacsports, Custom Clubmakers and Sharp.