Rianne Malixi ended up joint fifth in the Rome Junior Classic, slowing down at the backside for a one-under 70 even as local bet Sarah Im held off Thai Thanana Kotchasanmanee to win by one with another bogey-free 69 at the Coosa Country Club in Georgia Sunday.
The young Filipina star rebounded from an opening hole bogey with three birdies in the next eight holes but missed a couple of chances at the backside before dropping a stroke on the par-3 17th for a 34-36 card and a 54-hole total of 212.
She finished eight shots behind Im, who hit two birdies on each side for a 35-34 for a 10-under 203 output as Kotchasanmanee missed forcing a playoff with flubbed birdie opportunities before finally hitting one on the 18th for a 68 and 204.
Alice Zhao and Lydia Swan tied for third at 209 after a 68 and 71, respectively, while Reagan Southerland matched par 71 to share fifth place with the ICTSI-backed Malixi.
The SEA Games-bound shotmaker forged a three-way tie for the first lead at 67 but shaky putting stymied her charge in the second round that saw her bogey three of her last four holes on lip-outs to bow out of the title chase with a 75.
She nailed her second American Junior Golf Association crown in the Thunderbird All Star in Phoenix, Arizona three weeks ago but blew a four-stroke lead in the final round and finished joint second in the PING Heather Classic the following week in Mesa, also in Arizona.
After the SEAG, the Se Ri Pak Desert Classic winner last year heads back to the US to vie in another AJGA event, the Under Armour/Albane Valenzuela Girls Invitational on May 26-29 at the Longbow Golf Club where she will try to deal with an unfinished business.
The 15-year-old wonder heads back to Manila this week to re-join national teammates Lois Kaye Go and Mafy Singson in their final buildup for the SEA Games slated May 13-18 at the Heron Lake Golf and Resort in Vhin Phuc.
Go is coming off a rousing win in the Asian Junior Masters in Phuket, Thailand, ruling the girls’ Class A division to complement fellow SEAG mainstay Jet Hernandez’s domination of the boys’ competitions.
Shinichi Suzuki also nipped Lapassapon Heras-Gomez in a playoff to clinch the Class B crown while teaming up with Hernandez and recent national stroke play champion and SEAG team member Kristoffer Arevalo to win the team championship.