SAN PEDRO, Laguna – Chanelle Avaricio beat Princess Superal in sudden-death with a par on their return trip to the closing par-5 hole to win the ICTSI Hallow Ridge Ladies Challenge crown on Friday.
Avaricio overcame a two-stroke deficit with one hole left, birdying the 18th for a 71 and a crucial two-shot swing that forced a playoff at 216 as Superal blew an overnight three-stroke lead and crumbled with a bogey at the finish for a 74.
Back on the 18th, Avaricio reached the green in regulation and two-putted for par while Superal missed the putting surface and chipped nine feet past the hole. She muffed the putt, allowing Avaricio to snatch the victory worth P97,500.
“It all boiled down to execution (of shots) and the putts were also important,” said Avaricio, whose playoff win came after she routed the Superal-less field by seven for her breakthrough victory on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour at Riviera’s Couples course last November.
“I know the course well but it’s challenging every time I play here,” said the former Alabama State U mainstay. “I played steady but I didn’t really hit my shots well and missed a lot of greens. But my short game helped me a lot.”
Home course
The Hallow Ridge Filipinas Golf Inc. also awarded Avaricio one-year playing rights as honorary privilege.
"It's special winning on my home course," she added.
Superal looked poised to mark her return to top podium finish with a wire-to-wire win this week but her last-hole error in regulation led to another sorry setback following her loss to amateur sensation Rianne Malixi, who also pounced on a crucial two-shot swing on No. 17 of Luisita to steal the win two weeks ago.
Unlike Avaricio, she struggled with her short game, missing a number of chances to settle for another runner-up finish worth P63,750.
Top amateur Lois Kaye Go hobbled home with a 78 to tumble to fifth at 225 as reigning Order of Merit winner Harmie Constantino and Chihiro Ikeda carded identical 74s and shared third place at 223 worth P51,750 each.
Go took the low amateur honors plus gift prizes in the second leg of this year’s LPGT organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc and put up by ICTSI.
Daniella Uy, winner at Riviera-Langer last year, holed out with a birdie-less 77 and wound up sixth at 231 while Kristine Fleetwood also fumbled with a 77 and tied for seventh at 233 with fellow amateur Arnie Taguines and pro Pamela Mariano, who matched 78s.
Sarah Ababa, a former LPGT leg winner, also skied to a 78 for 10th at 234 while Korean Jane Jeong, who got into the mix with an opening 74 but fell behind with a second round 78, skied to an 83 and ended up 11th at 235.
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