Newcomer Pradera leaves PAL field gasping

CEBU—In its first year in the PAL Ladies Interclub, Pradera Verde needed just 18 holes to make a statement, and a strong one at that.

Coming out with all guns cocked and firing, Pradera turned the tree-lined Cebu Country Club layout upside down with 165 points and zoomed to a 21-point lead over Manila Southwoods-Masters after sensational teenager Yuka Saso fired a five-under-par 67 worth 59 on a scorching Tuesday here.

Tomita Arejola also cracked par with 55, and former national champion Harmie Constantino contributed 53. So efficient was Pradera that it threw away the 50 of Kristine Torralba on a day that no other player in the entire field was able to score 50.

And coach Norman Sto. Domingo, who assembled this team of youngsters just two weeks ago, is now aiming to go for the jugular right in Wednesday’s second round.

“We will go for the kill,” Sto. Domingo boldly predicted, though he refused to divulge his second round lineup. “It will be a strong team and we want to do that so we can cruise in the final two rounds.”

SW-Masters, bidding to win for the seventh straight year, hasn’t found itself in a position this beleaguered since this event’s revival in 2010, with coach Bong Lopez admitting that Wednesday will be “make-or-break” for the Carmona-based squad.

“We need to chop that deficit by at least half,” Lopez told the Inquirer. “It will be tough, but we will go out there and do our best.”

Samantha Bruce led SW-Masters with 49.