Davao City—Yvon Bisera rattled off four birdies in a row from No. 1 on her way home as she recovered from a wobbly backside start to shoot a 71 and snatch the first day honors from Mikha Fortuna in the ICTSI South Pacific Classic on Tuesday.
Bisera used her power and banked on steady putting to make a big turnaround then endured a bogey on the sixth to gain the head-start in the 54-hole championship on her home turf at the South Pacific Golf & Leisure Estates here.
“My driving was quite steady and strong and my putting clicked,” said Bisera after coming out on top while bucking the heat in a punishing start to the P1 million championship serving as the ninth leg of this year’s Ladies Phiilppine Golf Tour.
“I’m used to this kind of weather since this is my home course,” added Bisera, whose six-foot birdie putt on No. 1 sparked a run that included a tap-in birdie on the par-5 second hole which she reached in two, and a clutch pitch-in feat on the par-3 No. 3.
She capped her blitz with a long putt on the fourth but missed posting a two-shot cushion with a missed-green mishap on No. 6.
“I just need to stay focused and try to keep my drives on the fairways,” said Bisera, whose bid coming off a fifth-place finish at Del Monte took a wobbly start after a three-putt miscue on No. 11 and a missed green bogey on the next.
Fortuna, back in the hunt after missing the Del Monte stop following a fourth place finish at Forest Hills, actually took command with a two-under card after 16 holes on a six-birdie, four-bogey card. But she wavered at the finish, dropping strokes in the last two to end up with a 72 and slip to second.
“I had two chip-ins and the rest were like five-footers which were good,” said Fortuna. “But my bogeys were careless mistakes, like I had three missed shots that went past the greens and it was tough to get up-and-down from there.”
She added that playing under scorching conditions took its toll on her, saying: “It (heat) was a huge factor, It was really hot here so I had to stay hydrated and tried to focus on my routine because I wanted to play faster. Yes, it was kind of harder to focus because of the heat.”
Sarah Ababa, another homegrown talent seeking to end a long title spell after scoring a breakthough at Sherwood Hills in 2015, also bogeyed two of the last five holes to card a 73 for third while Apple Fudolin missed joining Fortuna at second with a double-bogey on No. 7 for a 74.
Daniella Uy, whose back-to-back victories at Forest Hills and Del Monte installed the former Junior World titlist as the marked player this week, faltered in an uncharacteristic backside stint that saw her yield five strokes for a birdie-less 41 and a 78.
She tumbled to joint ninth with Gretchen Villacencio behind fifth-running Korean Seoyun Kim, who turned in a 75, two-leg Harmie Constantino and Pamela Mariano, who matched 76s, and Monica Mandario, who turned in a 77.
The other fancied names also groped for form in hot conditions with Valley leg champion amateur and Del Monte joint runner-up Mafy Singson limping with an 80 in a tie with Marvi Monsalve and Korean Min Yeong Kim, behind Annika Cedo, Kristine Fleetwood and Ju Young Yang, who all carded 79s.