PAULINE del Rosario tied for ninth after firing a closing round 6-under-par 65 at the Atlantic Beach Classic in Florida, the opening leg of the Epson Tour, the developmental tour of the LPGA.
Del Rosario was even par for the tournament at the start of the final round but her sizzling 65 pushed her into a top 10 finish. Her previous rounds were 69-73 and she finished 6-under overall with 207, earning her $7,054.
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Four other Filipinos were in the field with the veteran Dottie Ardina the next best finisher in a tie for 26th place at 212 while Clariss Guce (70) and Bianca Pagdanganan (69) was a stroke further in a tie for 37th.
Tomita Arejola tied for 60th at 219 after shooting 75.
Mexico’s Isabella Fiero won the title by four strokes after posting a final day 4-under 67 and 13 under total at 200.
Yuka Saso ties for 33rd in Blue Bay LPGA
Meanwhile, Yuka Saso made some progress in her LPGA campaign finishing tied for 33rd in the Blue Bay LPGA tournament in Hainan, China on Sunday.
Saso, who played in three other tournaments this season with her best showing at the Tournament of Champions where she was tied for 37th spot, shot 73 in the final round for a 291 total and 3 over for the tournament.
She was 14 shots behind winner Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea who beat China’s Wei Wei Zhang by one stroke. Saso was T67 in HSBC World Women’s Championship and T63 in the Honda LPGA in Thailand.
Lee closed with a 73 and a total of 277, 11 under par, while Zhang shot 69 and was at 10 under.
Akshay Bhatia wins Arnold Palmer Invitational in playoff
Akshay Bhatia rallied from five strokes down to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational Sunday in a playoff with Daniel Berger.
Berger had looked like the winner when he led by four strokes at the turn at Palmer’s Bay Hill course, but Bhatia conjured four straight birdies on the back nine to get back in contention.
Two shots behind with three to play, the American shot an eagle on the 16th to firmly challenge Berger, and both players ended tied at 15 under after regulation at 273 with Bhatia finishing 3-under 69, Berger 70.
During the playoff, Berger hit his tee shot into the right rough and hit a 6-iron to the edge of the green 106 feet from the hole. He then rolled it to within 7 feet, but missed the par putt.
Bhatia, steady under pressure, hit the center of the green in his approach and then made two putts from 30 feet for his third PGA Tour title, this one coming with a $4 million prize.
Ricky Castillo wins Puerto Rico Open
Ricky Castillo scored a closing round 5-under-par 67 to win the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour win.
The victory came after Blades Brown, an 18-year-old seeking to become the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years, came undone with a triple bogey on the 13th when he hit into the bunker and then the water.
Brown was then leading by one-stroke and eventually finished third after shooting 69, his first top 10 on the Tour.
Castillo finished at 17-under 271, one shot ahead of Chandler Blanchet, who birdied the final hole for 67.
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