Sarah Ababa heads the local cast vying against eight Thai campaigners and a sprinkling of Koreans in the P500,000 Manila Southwoods Ladies Classic which fires off Tuesday at the Legends course in Carmona, Cavite.
Ababa tees off at 7:30 a.m. along with Saraport Chamchoi of Thailand and amateur Annika Cedo seeking a follow up to her victory in the Sherwood leg of the tour sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
Two other leg winners, Fil-Am Cristina Corpus and Korean amateur Hwang Min-jeong, are in the hunt for the P100,000 winner’s purse in this, the final leg of the eight-stage circuit.
Corpus nailed her first tour title at Luisita while Hwang, a Grade 9 student at Holy Infant School in Muntinlupa, upstaged the pros at Mt. Malarayat.
“The Thais came here to win against us [tour regulars],” said Ababa. “It will not be right to overlook them. I will play my game and see what happens.”
Corpus will be in the company of Lucy Landicho and Korean amateur in Koh Eu-na in the 7:10 a.m. flight. Hwang, who beat Cyna Rodriguez and No. 1 amateur Princess Superal at Malarayat, tees off with Chihiro Ikeda and Sylvia Torres at 7:20.
Chamchoi has finished third twice on tour.