Liu, Kawinpakorn among favorites

Chinese Taipei’s Babe Liu will be one of the favorites when the $100,000 ICTSI Manila Golf Ladies Classic tees off Wednesday at the ultra-exclusive layout inside Forbes Park.

Ranked third in her country’s tour, Liu leads a 25-strong Taiwanese delegation looking to thwart a small Filipino contingent led by the crafty Princess Superal and Pauline del Rosario.

Thailand will also be represented well, with veteran Yupaporn Kawinpakorn shooting for a second Ladies Philippine Golf Tour crown after triumphing at Pradera Verde last December.

There will be a total of 39 players coming from Thailand, while the Philippines will have nine, including Chihiro Ikeda, the former decorated amateur.

Superal is one of the promising Filipino pros who came off a stellar amateur career.

She is a regular campaigner in the Symetra Tour in the United States like Del Rosario and is used to playing tournaments with international fields as tough as this one.