Cyna Rodriguez and Princess Superal take time out from their Symetra Tour campaign as they banner the field in the ICTSI Pradera Verde Ladies Classic firing off Tuesday at the Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club in Lubao, Pampanga.
Rodriguez and Superal, the two winningest players on the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, are expected to slug it out for top honors in the P750,000 event owing to their talent and form although a slew of players are also out to foil their bid in the 54-hole championship sponsored by ICTSI.
They include Pauline del Rosario, who has racked up two victories in her rookie year at Orchard and Baguio legs and finished twice, the last at Riviera where she lost by one to amateur Abby Arevalo on the final hole.
Former leg winners Chihiro Ikeda, Fil-Am Cristina Corpus and Sarah Ababa and Korean Euna Koh are also going all out to nail their second win in the seventh leg of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.
Thais Tiranan Yoopan and Sarinee Thithiratanakorn, on the other hand, are also raring to spoil the locals’ bid at the long but flat layout which hosted the first Southeast Asia vs Phl Ladies Golf Challenge early this year.
Although Arevalo won’t be around to go for a second straight victory, a talent-laden cast of amateurs is joining the title hunt, led by former LPGT leg winner Bernice Olivarez-Ilas and Sofia Chabon of The Country Club team, along with teammates Sam Dizon, Laia Barro and Mafy Singson, Marianne Bustos, Jonah Ilagan, Sheila Ward and Kinjo Mana of Japan.
Club bet Annika Pineda-Cayabyab, 12, also hopes to cash in on her local knowledge of the bunker-laden course that could challenge the best in the fold in the presence of the wind.
But focus will be on Rodriguez, a three-time LPGT Order of Merit winner, and Superal, who has posted convincing victories both as an amateur and pro, who are both on a break from the Symetra Tour in the US and are tipped to clash for the top P150,000 purse in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, BDO, Meralco, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and K&G Golf.