Constantino’s 71 paces Malarayat Ladies

HARMIE Constantino birdied the 17th hole yesterday on the way to a one-under-par 71 and a one-stroke lead over fellow amateur Daniella Uy, Chihiro Ikeda and two Thais after the opening round of the ICTSI Mount Malarayat Ladies Classic in Lipa City.

The reigning national champion, Constantino had five birdies against four bogeys on nines of 36-35, enough to give her the lead over Uy, Ikeda and Saraporn Chamchoi and Chatprapa Siriprakob in the P750,000 tournament organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

Ikeda, shooting to win a second straight championship after breaking through as a pro last month, needed to birdie two of her last three holes to salvage a 37-35 and be in prime position early for the hefty champion’s purse of P150,000.

Former Junior World champion Uy was the steadiest among the 72 scorers, cushioning her lone bogey with a birdie.

Sarah Ababa fired a 74, with fellow amateur Chanelle Avaricio shooting a 75 to be within arm’s length of Constantino.

Former leg winners Jayvie Agojo and Cristina Corpus shot 76s like the veteran Lucy Landicho to round out the top 10 as conditions over the complex’s composite layout took its toll on the field with 10 players failing to break 80.

Lovelyn Guioguio, the veteran out of Del Monte in Bukidnon, shot herself in the foot with an 82 and would need a truly low round today to vault back into contention.

Agojo, whose lone pro victory came at The Riviera a couple of years back, also birdied the 18th like Corpus, the champion at Luisita last year. Musong R. Castillo