Amateur Abby Arevalo drained a difficult 10-foot, sidehill putt for birdie on the 18th hole on Thursday to shoot a one-under-par 70 and win the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour Riviera Championship by a shot over Pauline del Rosario at the tough-as-nails Langer layout in Cavite.
The 18-year-old standout of San Jose State University in the US actually had a very trying day on the greens but pulled it off when she needed to, tallying a one-over 214 for the first big individual victory of her career.
“It was a putt that needed the exact speed because of the very big break,” said Arevalo, daughter of former pro Tony and a member of the ICTSI squad coached by swing guru Bong Lopez.
Arevalo had four birdies against three bogeys in the final day. Her last birdie came after a knockdown 6-iron off a divot from 150 yards that had her bouncing back from a bogey on the 17th.
Del Rosario, who started the day tied for the lead with Saruttaya Ngam-Usawan of Thailand, closed out with a 72 for second but pocketed the P150,000 winner’s purse with Arevalo ineligible to win any money.