NEGROS OCCIDENTAL – In a wild final round, Florence Bisera emerged as the most unlikely of champions, conjuring a victory that will long be remembered not only for its drama but for the grit and composure it demanded.
Coming into the final round of the ICTSI Negros Occidental Classic at the rain-lashed Marapara Golf and Country Club on Thursday, the Davaoeña was barely on the radar trailing leader and top favorite Princess Superal by six strokes.
Instead, Bisera produced a 67 and pullec off a remarkable one-stroke win over Seo Yun Kim (72) and Superal (74).
Bisera posts third career win
“I didn’t expect to win because I was six shots behind after two rounds,” said Bisera in Filipino after clinching her third career victory on a 54-hole 209 total, nearly a year after her win at the Match Play Championship at The Country Club.
“I just told myself that I wanted to shoot under par on the final day – that was my only goal. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”
Bisera credited her putting for the win that mirrored Pauline del Rosario’s victory over Kim at Binitin last week. Although she missed several birdie opportunities, her putter came alive when it mattered most, as shown by her five birdies on a day when sinking putts was more the exception than the rule.
Kim, chasing her elusive first win after seven excruciating runner-up finishes, looked poised to finally break through. She surged ahead by three strokes at the turn after a pair of birdies on Nos. 4 and 5 and seemed in full control, especially with Superal stumbling early with a double bogey on No. 4 and another dropped shot on the sixth.
But Kim once again faded in the end.
Struggling with club control and shaken confidence, the Korean wobbled on the back nine with three bogeys and no birdies.
Ahead of them, Bisera had quietly but effectively gone about her business.
Playing one flight ahead of the leaders, she ignited her charge early with birdies on Nos. 2, 3 and 6 – an explosive start that signaled intent but still seemed too little, too early. Her bogeys on Nos. 9 and 11 threatened to stall her momentum, but she regrouped with the heart of a champion.
KIm and Superal halved the combined runner-up purse of P147,000.
Lois Kaye Go, also in strong contention, faltered late with three bogeys in her last five holes, ending her bid with a 72 and solo fourth at 212. Tiffany Lee made a late charge with a 69 to finish fifth at 215, while Chanelle Avaricio (71-217), Daniella Uy (74-218), Sarah Ababa (70-220) and Kayla Nocum (73-221) and Gretchen Villacencio (74-221) rounded up the Top 10,
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