Alido, Saso thwart Koreans, clinch PH AM Open crowns
IRA Alido and Yuka Saso carved out contrasting victories yesterday to thwart South Korean bets in the 36-hole finals of the Philippine Amateur Open junior match play championship.
The second-seeded Alido used a blistering start to rip No. 1 Tom Kim, 9&7 in the boys’ finale, while Saso, a Filipino-Japanese, bested Hwang Min-jeong, 2-up, for the biggest wins of their young careers at posh Alabang Golf Club in Muntinlupa.
Taking the momentum of a 4&4 Final Four victory over Aniceto Mandanas on Friday into the morning 18, Alido outclassed Kim right from the get-go.
Alido’s victory also prevented Kim from holding both stroke and match play titles.
Saso, a Queen Sirikit Cup veteran, also took charge early, going 3-up after 18 holes but the 14-year-old playing out of Tagaytay Midlands needed to come up with pressure-packed shots at crunch time to pull out the win.
Saso came into the finals fresh from a 5&4 rout of Kristine Torralba in the semifinals while Hwang, who won a pro tournament on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour at Mt. Malarayat last year, struggled past last year’s winner Harmie Constantinto, snatching the win on the 19th hole. Musong R. Castillo
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
