Chinese t=Taipei – Pauline del Rosario hit two late birdies to put herself in the crowded mix of local and Thai aces, shooting a 69 and trailing Jessica Peng and Ling-Jie Chen by three at the start of the Party Golfers Ladies Open in Guanxi Township, Hsinchu county here Wednesday.
The big-hitting Del Rosario endured a rather shaky stint on Lily Golf and Country Club’s tricky greens coming off a pro-am victory the previous day, missing a number of chances right in the first six holes before coming through with four birdies against a bogey in the last 12 to gain a share of sixth with seven others.
Peng and Chen, Nos. 13 and 17 in the current TLPGA (LPGA of Taiwan) Order of Merit derby, respectively, gunned down seven birdies against a bogey each for 66s as they took control by one over fellow Taiwanese and former Ladies Philippine Golf Tour winner Ching Huang and Thai Ornnicha Konsunthea, who both spiked their 67s with three straight birdies from No. 14.
“I did really good, put a lot of trust in myself and turned out pretty good,” said Peng, who birdied the first two holes at the back where she teed off then picked herself up from a miscue on No. 13 with birdies on Nos. 18, 3, 4, 6 and 7.
When asked of her game plan for tomorrow (Thursday), the 30-year-old campaigner said: “If I can copy and paste the round today (yesterday) for tomorrow (today), I’ll be awesome.”
Multi-titled PK Kongkraphan, also from the crack Thai contingent, fashioned out a bogey-free 68 to move to solo fifth in the NT$4 million championship co-sanctioned by the TLPGA and LPGT heading to a wild, scrambling finish.
Del Rosario was right on target off the mound and produced superb approach shots that led to birdies on Nos. 7, 9, 14 and 16, more than making up for her missed green mishap on the par-3 No. 8.
“I missed just one fairway and that helped me keep my ball in play even if the fairways are narrow,” said del Rosario, who led his team of amateurs Zhang Yicong, Li Qiaming and Li Shaoping to a record 16-under 56 for a three-shot win over two other squads in the traditional pro-am tournament late Tuesday.
“I had four makeable putts in the first six holes but I tried to make up for the misses the rest of the way,” added the 2017 winner of the TLPGA and Royal Open crown.
But she believes she can still improve heading to the last two rounds of the 54-hole event, saying: “I just need to adjust more on the greens, which are a bit slower. But I think I can still improve tomorrow (today).”
Florence Bisera likewise aims for a big bounce back after blowing a three-under card early on with three bogeys for a 72 that dropped her to joint 25th with Daniella Uy and a slew of others.
“I was nervous at first since this is my first tournament abroad,” said Bisera, who humbled some of the country’s top pros to score a breakthrough on the LPGT at home in Davao. “But it’s a great opportunity to be here that’s why I grabbed this chance.”
Starting out at the backside, Bisera, 21, parred the first three holes then racked up three straight birdies in varying fashions to spark some fire in the rising Davaoena star, who is on her first crack in international play.
“I gained my confidence after making three straight birdies. I wasn’t actually expecting anything, I only aimed at finishing even-par,” said Bisera, who birdied No. 13 from 12 feet, drained a five-footer on the next then hit a pitch-in feat on No. 15.
But she lost her focus after flubbing another birdie-putt from short range on No. 16 then bogeyed the 17th before yielding more strokes on Nos. 1 and 6 to settle for a 37-35.
“Nawala ako sa focus after missing a putt on No. 16. I made a three-putt bogey on No. 1 and failed to save par from four feet on the sixth.”
Uy, who placed fourth here in 2019, blew a one-under card after 15 holes with a double bogey on the par-5 16th but birdied the last to rescue a 35-37.
The other Filipinas under the LPGT banner, however, struggled with amateur Mafy Singson turning in a wild 74, the same output put in by Sarah Ababa, who birdied the last two holes for a 39-35; Harmie Constantino and amateur Laurea Duque limping with a 75; Chanelle Avaricio carding a birdie-less 76; Mikha Fortuna fumbling with a 77; Chihiro Ikeda and amateur Lia Duque posting 78s; and Marvi Monsalve, Pamela Mariano and Rev Alcantara all ending up with 81s.