Superal falters in US Women’s Amateur

SUPERAL         RAFFY LERMA

Princess Superal faltered in the closing holes and hobbled home with a 3-over-par 75 to drop below the cut-off line at the start of the stroke play qualifying of the US Women’s Amateur Open at Portland Golf Club in Portland, Oregon Monday.

Staying in the top 10 with a one-under card with four holes left, Superal bogeyed No. 6, dropped two shots on the next and holed out with another bogey on the par-3 eighth.

With her closing 38 on the front nine,  she ended up in a tie for 70th place among the 156 starters chasing the top 64 berths in the knockout phase of the annual event.

Superal, last year’s US Girls’ Junior champion, actually survived a birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey start at the back with a run of pars and a six-foot birdie putt on No. 1 to join a host of others at No. 10. But after three pars and a flubbed birdie-putt on the par-5 No. 5, Superal missed the sixth green and failed to return a long putt for par. She hit an errant approach shot into the water off a stymied lie on the par-4 seventh for a 6 then three-putted the next.

“She’ll fight back. It was just one of those poor finishes where she struggled with her putting,” said Team ICTSI coach Nestor Mendoza.

Former world junior champion Daniella Uy fired a birdie-less 77 for joint 101st.