TAGAYTAY—Princess Superal carded a tournament-best one-under-par 69 then watched Chihiro Ikeda struggle early and finish wobbly to tally a five-stroke lead in the ICTSI Tagaytay Highlands Challenge Thursday.
Superal went from one-down to two-up just after four holes as Ikeda fumbled with three straight bogeys from No. 2 with Superal negating her bogey on No. 5 with birdies on Nos. 7 and 9.
She had another bogey on No. 16 but holed out with a birdie and pulled away with a 140 total as Ikeda dropped two strokes on the 16th and closed out with a bogey for a 75 and a 145.
“My driving has been consistent and my irons worked well,” said Superal, who hit nine fairways and 11 greens, capping her superb round with 29 putts.
“I hope my long wait is over and I’m really hungry for a win,” added the former US Girls’ Juniors champion, who is eyeing a follow-up to her 2016 LPGT win.