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.