Rianne Malixi just one off Australian Amateur pace

Rianne Malixi.—CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

A closing bogey cost Rianne Malixi a share of the Australian Amateur in Melbourne on Tuesday, as the Filipino star, bidding to win a second straight prestigious title Down Under, settled for a three-under-par 70 to be one shot behind Japanese Aina Fujimoto.

Malixi birdied three of her first 10 holes at Keysborough Golf Club, one of the two courses staging the host country’s national championship. She then gunned down two straight birdies from the 16th and was then on pace to match Fujimoto’s 69 fashioned out in morning play.

But coughed up a stroke on the shortest par-5 18, which played to just 446 yards, as she settled for a pair of 35s and a share of second with Japanese Mamika Shinchi and Aussies Jazy Roberts Amelia Harris in the 72-hole championship at the 6,314-yard course.

Still, it was another impressive start for the young Filipina star, who is coming off a come-from-behind victory in the Australian Master of the Amateurs Championship in Braeside, also in Melbourne, last week.

Looking for double

In pursuit of claiming both premier titles in Australia, the ICTSI-backed Malixi showcased her skill by birdying the par-5 second hole, gaining another stroke on the fifth and reaching three-under with another on No. 10.

A misstep on the 185-yard par-3 No. 15 momentarily slowed her charge, but she rebounded with birdies on the next two holes, sharing the top spot with Fujimoto momentarily.

The Japanese took advantage of the favorable playing conditions earlier in the day, rattling off three birdies in her first five holes at the backside. She bogeyed the 15th but broke a run of pars with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 to seize control of the 100-player women’s field with a 34-35 card.