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    Golf Yearender: Harmie, Rianne shine as golf endures in pandemic

    Golf Yearender: Harmie, Rianne shine as golf persists in pandemic
    Dec 31, 2021
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    Princess Superal, Harmie Constantino, Daniella Uym Sunshine Baraquiel, Rianne Malixi and Chanelle Avaricio shine in a tough golf season.

    TWO victories to mark a maiden Ladies Philippine Golf Tour campaign was enough for Harmie Constantino to claim the Order of Merit trophy. Then there were two failed title bids that should make her tougher and stronger for the 2022 season.

    In a season filled with uncertainties due to pandemic, the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. still put up eight tournaments that produced six winners, with a 14-year-old eclipsing the pros in the season finale.

    Constantino highlighted her pro debut with a shock two-shot victory over multi-titled Princess Superal at Eagle Ridge-Aoki last March before play was abruptly suspended due to coronavirus concerns.

    “I didn’t even have the Order of Merit in mind when I was playing. I just came out there and played,” said Constantino, who earned P609,750 on two wins to top the money list.

    “I had few opportunities where I came up short. But it only showed that there’s still a lot more to learn,” she added, referring to her runner-up efforts at Riviera-Couples and Midlands.

    Superal did redeem herself by edging Chanelle Avaricio by one at Sherwood Hills when the circuit resumed in July then repeated over the latter by winning the Eagle Ridge-Norman leg by three.

    Harmie Constantino

    Harmie Constantino tops the money list with two wins in eight tournaments.

    Another wave of Covid-19 cases forced the Tour to take another break, this time a three-month hiatus. And while Superal opted to shift her focus on the LPGA of Japan Tour which however got stymied by health issues, Constantino made sure to stay in shape and she underscored this by holding off amateur Mafy Singson by one when the circuit marked another restart back at Eagle Ridge-Aoki.

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    No one dominated the next four tournaments.

    Sunshine Baraquiel, a lady pilot who said she had soon realized her heart was in golf and not in flying, reigned in wicked conditions at Highlands.

    Avaricio snapped a couple of bridesmaid finishes with a seven-stroke romp at Riviera-Couples.

    Daniella Uy made it three-in-row for first-time winners following a five-shot roll to victory at Riviera-Langer.

    But as Constantino eyed a big finish to the season and Baraquiel, Avaricio and Uy eyed a follow-up to their breakthrough wins, 14-year-old amateur Rianne Malixi came in to foil their bids.

    Coming into the event in top form following a series of stints abroad, Malixi led from the get-go in blustery conditions, pacing Baraquiel by three despite a 73 after 18 holes then all but wrapping up the championship after pulling away by nine over Uy with a 70 in the second round.

    The final 18 holes proved to be a coronation walk for the 2020 national stroke play champion, who dominated the Se Ri Pak Desert Junior of the American Junior Golf Association in California.

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    She finished with a 15-stroke triumph over Constantino — just short of Superal’s record 16-shot victory over Cyna Rodriguez at Highlands in 2018 — in an imposing victory that further boosted her confidence ahead of the title defense of the national stroke play crown she won in 2020 in January at Manila Southwoods.

    Though she missed her target of snatching a pro crown four times, Singson stamped her mark with a sweep of the last four low amateur honors.

    Avaricio finished second in the OOM with P539,000 in winnings while Uy pocketed P489,750 for third followed by Baraquiel with P474, 150 while Marvi Monsalve ended up fifth with P413,550 as Chihiro Ikeda, who skipped the last leg for an early holiday break in Davao, dropped to sixth with P412,500.

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    Princess Superal, Harmie Constantino, Daniella Uym Sunshine Baraquiel, Rianne Malixi and Chanelle Avaricio shine in a tough golf season.
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