Agojo falters, settles for 4th

SAN DIEGO, California — Sophomore lass Jayvee Agojo squandered a clear shot at the crown in the second to the last hole and ended up fourth overall with a three-over par 73 at the conclusion of play in the girls’ 13-14 in the 34th Junior World golf championship here.

What looked like a stirring rally in the works in the closing holes swiftly deteriorated into a faltering finish as Agojo missed two short putts on the 17th and 18th and settled for a tie at third place at Singing Hills Oak Glen.

Her birdie putt from three feet that could have put tremendous pressure on eventual champion Nathalia Jimenez of Columbia veered right of the cup and her tap-in birdie for par on the 18th lipped out of the hole as Agojo could only stare in disbelief.

She carded a three-over par 219 to tie Nevada’s Sondia Gogue (69-219) for third but lost out in the count-back with Californian Jennie Lee wresting second place at 71-218. Jimenez won the championship with 73-217.

"Sayang. Malakas ang pressure," said the petite Agojo whose lean frame withstood the rigors of 15 straight rounds as she played non-stop for three weeks to become RP’s best performer this year.

It also brought down the curtains on the stint of the 22-member Philippine contingent hoping to end a two-year title slump as the rest of the cast failed to advance, including the fancied bet in the 15-17 — former national champion Artemio Murakami — who had a 78-229 and missed the cut at Torrey Pines South. Anthony Kim led the field at 69-206.

Fil-Am Christine Fernandez, presently at seventh in junior world ranking and a good prospect for future RP teams, was running fifth in the girls side with a 71-219, six shots behind Nicole Perrot (69-213).

Cebu’s Keenan Ugarte had 83-240, Don Padilla 87-255, Mary Grace Cruz 88-255, and Katrina Gonzales 80-246 all missed the cut at Torrey Pines. Jobim Carlos had a closing 63 for 183 and 21st at the 6-8 in Presidio; Tonton Asistio 69-199 for 34th in the 11-12 at Welk Resort and Lawrence Negrido 78-231 in 13-14 at Steel Canyon.

"We’ve shown a lot of improvement this year and that’s something for us to start from. We’ll definitely try to make the kids competitive all year and maybe prepare early for next year," said Jungolf president Merwin Mediana who led the delegation sponsored by Northwest, Adidas and Taylor Made.

Agojo, a second year student at OB Montessori in Greenhills, displayed crisp ball-striking and impeccable short game but found the breaks going against her when it mattered most.

She fell back by two shots early on, reduced it to one with a birdie on the 13th and kept Jimenez within sight going into the last two holes. Her nine-iron shot from 110 yards on the 17th rested three feet below the cup but Jayvee tarried a bit too long and missed the birdie putt.

Then her 70-yard wedgeshot on the par 5 18th landed at the back of the pin and she three-putted from 18 feet to stumble on her bid while Jimenez grimly hung on to par game.

"I’ll be back next year for sure," vowed Agojo.