Rianne Malixi grabbed the pro field by the throat in Tagaytay. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
She may have missed a record, but what a tournament it was for Rianne Malixi.
The 14-year-old amateur obliterated a field of rising stars and professionals and used a closing two-under-par 70 to seal a 15-stroke victory in the ICTSI Midlands Ladies Classic in Tagaytay on Thursday.
It took a double-bogey on No. 13 to keep Malixi from shattering the record of Princess Superal, whose 16-stroke margin over eventual runner-up Cyna Rodriguez in 2018 remains the yardstick for dominance in the Ladies Professional Golfers Tour.
“It’s a great experience. I’ve been able to compete with the great pros and I was able to manage myself great and I’m very happy with that,” said Malixi.
Harmie Constantino was reduced to a happy footnote 15 shots back, her final round 75 allowing her to pocket the top prize of P116,250 because as an amateur, Malixi wasn’t eligible for any part of the P750,000 top purse.
Constantino, who pounced on backside errors by Daniella Uy to grab top pro honors, also claimed the Order of Merit title in her rookie season by pooling P609,750 in prizes over eight legs.
Malixi had Superal’s record in her crosshairs after riding an eagle to a three-under card after 12 holes. But her double-bogey on the par-4 13th slowed her a bit as she ended with a 54-hole total of 213.