Mia Legaspi picked up a third consecutive victory in the Optimist International Junior Golf Championship on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), carding an impressive one-under-par 71 for a four-shot win in the girls’ 10-12 years division at the Squire course of the PGA National Resort and Spa in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Legaspi, just one up on Thailand’s Ke Rojanapeansatit before the final round, pulled away with four birdies on the first seven holes and never gave her Thai rival a chance in the back nine to emerge as one of the event’s winningest campaigners.
Legaspi, a seventh grader at St. Paul’s College Pasig who was the best Philippine performer in the Callaway Junior World in San Diego three weeks ago, finished with a 214 aggregate after earlier rounds of 70 and 73.
Ke closed with a 74 for 218.
“She’s been playing very well, very consistent because of the training she’s been doing with coach Jun Cedo,” said Legaspi’s father Norman, a retired colonel who served as chief of staff of former President Fidel V. Ramos. “She deserves the victory because of all the hard work.”
The win made up for Daniella Uy’s runner-up finish in the girls’ 13-14 years bracket. Uy lost by one to Canada’s Brooke Henderson.
Legaspi, whose trip was partly sponsored by the Philippine Airlines, now heads to Pinehurst, North Carolina, for the US Kids World Championship where she will shoot for a record-breaking fifth consecutive age-group crown.