Del Rosario upstages Cyna, leads by three

ASIAN Games-bound Pauline del Rosario birdied four of the last seven holes to fire a one-under 71 in the rain and seize a three-shot lead over Cyna Rodriguez and Lucy Landicho at the start of the P500,000 ICTSI Eagle Ridge Ladies Invitational at Aoki course in Gen. Trias, Cavite, yesterday.

Del Rosario, who teamed up with Princess Superal and Miya Legaspi in the Philippines’ 10th place finish in the World Amateurs in Japan recently, dropped four straight strokes from No. 4 on errant drives and poor putting.

But the 15-year-old found her touch in time, birdieing the par-3 No. 8 from five feet before scorching the backside with five birdies to negate her fifth bogey on No. 11.

“I couldn’t get a good read on the speed of the greens in the early going,” said Del Rosario.

Rodriguez, eyeing a third straight win on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, also faltered early, bogeying No. 1 and dropping two strokes on the par-4 No. 3.

She rebounded with back-to-back birdies from No. 6 but bogeyed No. 9 and settled for a one-birdie, one-bogey stint at the back while flubbing two birdie putts for a 74, the same output of Landicho.