Mikhaela Fortuna blew a six-shot lead but battled back from two strokes down to edge Indonesian Ribka Vania and The Country Club teammate Abby Arevalo by one to snare the overall championship in the 2015 Pondok Indah International Junior golf tournament in Jakarta recently.
Fortuna, who started with a 69 and closed with an 82 at the tough Pondok Indah Golf Course, came through with clutch par putts in the last two holes, including a title-clinching eight-footer on the par-5 18th to frustrate Vania, who carded a 74, and Arevalo, who fired a 73, and bag her biggest win.
“I just hung in there. Coach Bong (Lopez) told me to keep on fighting,” said the 15-year-old Fortuna, whose previous best was her win in the 2013 Malay-sian Kids World Championship.
The De La Salle Zobel student finished with a 222 total, one up on Vania and Arevalo, over 54 holes and likewise ruled Class A (15-17).
Fortuna triple bogeyed the par-4 first hole, bogeyed four straight holes from No. 13 but closed out with two tough pars. Bernice Olivarez Ilas shot a 79 and won Class B by three shots with 224.
Princess Superal closed out the season by topping the special division by 23 shots over Indonesian Putri Aisyah Amani.