Pauline bags Malaysia Ladies Amateur crown

PAULINE del Rosario pounced on local ace Nur Durriyah Damian’s meltdown on No. 15 to snare the Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open crown by three shots with a closing one-over-par 73 at Templer Park Country Club in Kuala Lumpur late Thursday.

Del Rosario blew a two-stroke lead with bogeys on Nos. 11 and 13 but quickly seized a three-shot lead with par on the tight par-5 No. 15 as Damian hit her second shot out-of-bounds and ended up with a triple bogey.

The 16-year-old Filipino finished with a 54-hole total 216 and annexed her biggest career win yet.

“I’m delighted to have done enough to win,” said Del Rosario, who helped the Philippines finish next only to powerhouse South Korea in last week’s Queen Sirikit Cup in Hong Kong.

Damian carded a 75 and slid to third at 220, as Filipino-New Zealander Julianne Alvarez snatched second place with 219 after a day-best 71. Hong Kong’s Michelle Cheung shot a 74 for fourth at 225.

“She has improved a lot,” said ICTSI-TCC coach Bong Lopez of Del Rosario.

Abby Arevalo made 77 and finished at No. 12 at 232 while teammate Sam Martirez carded an 81 for 243.