Thai ace buries clutch birdies, zooms to 2-shot Pradera triumph

LUBAO, Pampanga—Yupaporn Kawinpakorn hit two crucial backside birdies to rule the ICTSI Pradera Verde Ladies Classic, repelling Dottie Ardina on No. 12 and beating fellow Thai Pimpadsorn Sangkagaro by two with a 69 here Thursday.

The Thai veteran wormed out of a three-way tie after 11 holes with a birdie on the par-5 12th then held sway to the finish as Ardina, who moved to a share of the lead at six-under overall with back-to-back birdies from No. 11 a flight ahead, fell behind by two with a bogey on the 14th. She wound up with a 71.

Kawinpakorn then shrugged off Sangkagaro’s challenge with another birdie from 15 feet on the 17th to churn out a second straight three-under card, securing the victory on an eight-under 208 total worth P250,000 in this second leg of the 2019 Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

“I expected to win because I really liked the course and I’m very happy I made it,” said Kawinpakorn, who actually struggled with her long game but more than made up for it with a superb iron game and putting.

Sangkagaro had a blistering start of three birdies in the first nine holes but blew an early two-stroke lead over Kawinpakorn and failed to recover from a bogey-bogey start at the back. She ended up second with a 71 and a 210 and took home P120,000.

Ardina, whose back-to-back 70s kept her in the title hunt in the P1 million championship, recovered from a bogey start with a birdie on No. 6 then gained a shared view of the top with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12.