South goes all the way

TEAM South completed its domination of the North yesterday, winning four matches, losing three and drawing one in singles play to retain the ICTSI Philippine Ladies Golf Tour’s The Duel title at South Links.

It was a wire-to-wire triumph this time for the Southerners, who had to rally in the singles to erase a formidable deficit last year.

Chihiro Ikeda, Lovelyn Guioguio and Mia Piccio chalked up the South’s first three victories in lopsided styles to clinch the tie. The South went into the singles play needing just 2.5 points to retain the Ryder Cup-style championship but posted a final scoreline of 10.5-5.5 points.

With a 6-2 lead after the fourballs and foursomes, Ikeda got the South on the board first with a 6 and 5 win over Lina de Guzman before Piccio routed Mary Grace Estuesta via the same score.

Guioguio ripped Heidi Chua also with 6 and 5 rout.

Teamwork was key

“The players really played their best out there,” South skipper Sylvia Torres said. “The key to this win was their teamwork.”

The South raced to a 4-0 lead after the fourballs on Tuesday and was never headed, taking two more matches in the foursomes to build a formidable buffer over the badly outclassed Northern crew.

Cyna Rodriguez, the North’s spearhead, tried to get her squad off to a hot start with a 7 and 6 bombardment of Anya Tanpinco.

But Ikeda, Guioguio and Piccio came out for the South and completed the demolition job.

“Our solid first day was really the key to the win,” Torres added. “The North was pushed to the wall because of our 4-0 lead. My players then really proved their worth in the singles.”

Dottie Ardina and Jayvie Agojo posted the North’s two other wins, ripping Sarah Ababa, 5 and 4, and Tracy Que, 5 and 4, respectively.

Lucy Landicho of the North and Apple Fudolin accounted for the day’s lone draw.

The veteran Eva Miñoza, who hails from Bukidnon, put an exclamation point to the South’s domination with a 2-up victory over Jan Punzalan in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. and backed by Nike, Pacsports, Custom Clubmakers and Sharp.