Ladies tour’s The Duel begins Tuesday

Dottie Ardina and Mia Piccio add firepower to the North and South squads, respectively, as the second edition of the Philippine Ladies Golf Tour’s The Duel gets off the ground today at South Links in Las Piñas.

Ardina will help Cyna Rodriguez lead the Northerners, while Piccio, who hails from Bacolod, will spearhead the South together with Chihiro Ikeda in the Ryder Cup-style event won by the South in come-from-behind fashion last year at Canlubang.

The duo were unsuccessful in their respective bids to make the LPGA two weeks ago and will be a welcome addition to the field.

First-day action will be four-ball with the match pitting Jayvie Agojo and the veteran Lina de Guzman against Lovelyn Guioguio and Eva Miñoza kicking off the competition.

The exciting eight singles matches will be the highlight on the final day on Thursday. Second-round action in the tournament sponsored by the International Container Terminal and Services Inc. will be foursome.

Rodriguez, the Order of Merit winner for the second straight LPGT season, will have former Philippine Ladies champ Mary Grace Estuesta as partner against Piccio and Apple Fudolin.

Ardina will have Marjorie Palumbarit as partner against Anya Tanpinco and the returning Tracy Que in one of the featured matches  backed by Nike, Pacsports, Custom Clubmakers and Sharp.

The three-day event is being held for the second straight year to raise the level of ladies pro play in the country.