KL Ladies: Del Rosario now ahead

Pauline del Rosario leaned on late birdies at the front to fire a two-under 70 and wrest a two-stroke lead over erstwhile frontrunner Nur Durriyah Damian in the second round of the 32nd Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open in Rawang, Kuala Lumpur late Wednesday.

Del Rosario found her rhythm and touch in time and hit superb iron shots that set up birdies inside seven feet on Nos. 7 and 8, which she made to spike her 36-34 round at the tough Templer Park Country Club course.

With Damian fumbling with a 75, the top ICTSI-The Country Club bet overcame an overnight three-stroke deficit to seize control at 143 by two.

She  moved 18 holes away from nailing the host country’s premier amateur event which drew some of the top and rising players in the region, including those priming up for next week’s Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

“The course plays very hard. Trouble lurks in so many holes either on the left and right of the fairway and there were a couple of tough pin positions but I kept it going by consistently hitting greens in regulation and giving myself more birdie chances,” said Del Rosario, coming off a stint in last week’s Queen Sirikit Cup where Team Philippines placed second behind Korea.

But the 16-year-old De La Salle-Zobel standout stressed the need to stay focused as she braced for a big fightback from Damian, who took charge with a 70 Tuesday but fell back with erratic plays which she vowed to correct in the final round. Damian slipped to 145.

“I will play very smart in the final round to have a chance to win,” said Del Rosario.

Filipino-Kiwi Julianne Alvarez rebounded with a 73 after a 75 but stood five shots off Del Rosario at 148 in a tie with Singapore’s Amanda Tan, who also carded a 73.

Del Rosario’s teammate Abby Arevalo hardly recovered from a 78 with a 77 for a 155 while Sam Martirez skied to an 84 for 162.