ICTSI Ladies: Del Rosario hangs on to tie Rodriguez

GEN. TRIAS, Cavite—Pauline del Rosario blew a five-stroke lead before settling down with a 73 that still kept here on top yesterday along with the charging Cyna Rodriguez after two rounds of the P500,000 ICTSI Eagle Ridge Ladies Invitational at Eagle Ridge’s Aoki course here.

Rodriguez, gunning for her fourth title in five tournaments on the circuit so far, rallied with a 70 and caught up at 144 with Del Rosario, who is bidding to become the first amateur to win on the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

Del Rosario, who started with a 71, stretched her lead to five with back-to-back birdies from No. 3 but struggled when the wind picked up midway through her round. She needed two birdies from long range on the 15th and 17th to stay level with Rodriguez.

Like Del Rosario, Rodriguez hit two late birdies on 14 and 15 but said the strong wind made it a lot tougher to putt.

Five shots behind at the start of the round, Amolkan Phalajivin birdied the first two holes to close the gap but the Thai ace failed to sustain her solid start, settling for two bogeys against a birdie for a 71 that left her  three shots adrift at 147 in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. and backed by  Nike, Pacsports, Custom Clubmakers and Sharp.

“Wow, today was a better round for me,” said Phalajivin, who opened with a 76 after finishing second to Rodriguez in the Baguio and Batangas stops of the Tour. “I now know the course a little more and that helps.”

Lovelynn Guioguio also shot a 71 to tie Sarah Ababa, who had a 73, at fourth at 148 while Chihiro Ikeda hardly moved up at 149 after a 71.

Jayvie Agojo, winner at ICTSI LPGT Riviera, closed out with a 35 for a 74 but still stood too far behind at 151 while Korean Kwon Seo Yon pooled a 153 after a 78 and Korean amateur Hwang Min Jeong made a 79 for  159.

After a decent 74, Lucy Landicho found the going tough, fumbling with an atrocious 51 at the front before ending up  with a 90, tumbling down from joint second to a share of 10th with Anya Tanpinco, who rebounded with a 75, at 164.