Bondad leads RP Ladies Am cast

BACOLOD City – Frances Bondad will seek to win a different version of the Philippine Amateur golf championship starting next week, leading a crack field of participants seeing action at the short but tough Marapara layout here.

The 17-year-old, who was born in Los Angeles and raised in Australia, will fly in on Wednesday and will participate in the four-day event as the organizing National Golf Association of the Philippines holds a women’s match play championship for the first time ever.

Bondad won the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines’ version of the RP Ladies last year at Manila Golf, a stroke play event, which Jayvie Agojo pocketed last January.

That two-stroke loss to Agojo has motivated Bondad to polish her game even more, undergoing a serious training regimen before pronouncing herself ready to take on all comers in the event set Sept. 27 - Oct. 1.Entries into the women’s event are still being accepted at the NGAP offices at tel. nos. (02) 5256987, (02) 5245160, (0920) 9507514 and (0917) 5607074, or at the NOGCC (034) 4411190. Inquiries can also be coursed through [email protected] and [email protected]. A classification round will be played on Sept. 27 before the tournament, supported by ICTSI, San Miguel Corp., Aboitiz, Hanjin Group, Petron Blaze, Pagcor, PCSO, Bench, the Department of Tourism, Omega, C2 and the Philippine Airlines, shifts to match play.

The tournament actually returns to Bacolod for the first time in 26 years, while women’s play will be introduced for the first time since 1961, when the then-Paga (Philippine Amateur Golf Association) hosted the first ever RP Am.Anya Tanpinco, a member of the Philippine pool, Carmelette Villaroman, Lora Roberto and a number of young and upcoming players are initially entered.