Chihiro Ikeda. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Chihiro Ikeda will try to put the finishing touches on a second Order of Merit (OOM) title in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour starting Tuesday when the ICTSI Pradera Verde Championship tees off in Lubao, Pampanga.
The former Southeast Asian Games queen, who holds a hefty lead on Chanelle Avaricio, will be the player to watch in the 54-hole championship that offers a purse of P750,000 and Ikeda will come into the event with the same mindset she’s had for the entire season.“I am not expecting anything. I will just play,” Ikeda told the Inquirer recently before starting practice at Manila Southwoods. She said that she has no expectations because of a chronic wrist injury that has kept her from putting in the time to practice as often and as long as she wants.
“But I am making sure that I can play as well as I can, that’s for sure,” Ikeda, who is still under swing coach Bong Lopez, added.
After finishing sixth, eight shots out of amateur Rianne Malixi’s winning 219 total at Riviera’s Langer two weeks ago, Ikeda is still tagged as a favorite with Pradera Verde being so long.
Malixi won’t be playing next week, leaving Harmie Constantino, Sunshine Baraquiel and Sarah Ababa to give chase.
The 72-hole men’s championship, which will be a P2 million event, also tees off Tuesday with Antonio Lascuña announcing his readiness to bounce back from a stinging playoff loss to Juvic Pagunsan at Langer.
Pagunsan also won’t be making a start next week, making the title chase a wide-open affair with Michael Bibat returning to the tour after recovering from a back injury.