Abalos salvages fourth in tough US Kids Euro tilt

Celine Abalos proudly displays her fourth-place trophy. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Seeing action as one of the youngest in the centerpiece 15-18 division for girls and playing sick from the second round on, the Philippines’ Celine Abalos closed out with a four-over-par 76 on Thursday to finish fourth in the prestigious US Kids European Championship at the age-old Royal Musselburgh course in Scotland.

The 15-year-old Abalos, who stood a full head below the older players, got undone by a second round 83, but made up for that by tying the third-best score of the final day for a 54-hole 238 tally in the event won by Latvia’s Katrina Bulkovska, who fired a 70 for 211.

Celine, the youngest daughter of Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, qualified as the Philippine representative after topping the 13-14 of the US Kids event in Australia last year. She was the second-best Southeast Asian behind Pruksiri Prukpaiboon of Thailand, the third placer who also closed out with a 76 for 226.

READ: Abalos settles for 2nd, 1 shot behind champ

“I feel happy finishing fourth, since this is my first international event in the (15-18) division,” Celine, who will be playing in the Future Golf Champions and then the Junior World events in San Diego in a couple of weeks, told the Inquirer over the phone.

Coached by former Junior World champion Carito Villaroman, Celine and Prukpaiboon were the only Asians in the lean field that saw action at Royal Musselburgh, the sixth oldest golf course in the world which hosted the event for its 250th founding anniversary.

“Because of the sore throat that she contracted before the second round, we were forced to shoot for fourth place,” Villaroman, who is still in Scotland. INQ