Like majority of the compact field, Pauline del Rosario is eager to get re-started in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour resumption on Tuesday, armed with a swing she enhanced during the long layoff caused by the global health crisis.
“These tournaments are giving me the chance to see some of the changes I’ve been working on in my game,” said Del Rosario, the first Filipina to win on the LPGA of Taiwan in 2017.
That feat actually spiked a sterling rookie pro season for the former Philippine Ladies Open champion, who racked up four LPGT victories to claim the Order of Merit diadem.
If not for the pandemic, she would’ve played four to five tournaments in Taiwan as part of her buildup for a crack at the LPGA Qualifying School.
During the long break, Del Rosario kept herself in form through daily workouts and doing golf drills—and like everybody else, she looked forward to swinging back into action before the year ends.
With the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. getting the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) and GAB (Games and Amusements Board) nod to resume operations under strict health and safety guidelines, two tournaments for the men’s and ladies circuits put up by ICTSI were set for Nov. 17-20 and Dec. 8-11 at the Couples and Langer courses, respectively, of the Riviera golf complex in SIlang, Cavite.
“I’ve been preparing for the resumption of the tournaments since the lifting of the lockdown. During the break, I’ve been following a workout program and made sure I was physically and mentally in shape,” said Del Rosario.
So do the rest of the ladies cast, including fellow former OOM winners Princess Superal and Chihiro Ikeda and three-time OOM winner and former LPGA campaigner Cyna Rodriguez along with Sarah Ababa, Gretchen Villacencio, Marvi Monsalve and Daniella Uy and brand-new pros Abby Arevalo and Chanelle Avaricio.
But focus will be on the 22-year-old Del Rosario, thrilled and excited over the LPGT restart and the chance to brandish her brand-new game in new normal times.
“If I’ll be able to apply what I have been doing during my practice into a tournament-setting, I can play good golf,” she said. AFP