Bondad seizes one-shot lead with 71

Former champion Frances Bondad, a last-minute entry, made a quick start as she fired an even-par 71 yesterday to post a one-stroke lead over Lora Roberto at the start of the Philippine Ladies Open Golf Championship at the Manila Golf Club course inside Forbes Park.

Bondad, back just last Monday after helping the RP women’s team win the silver medal in the recent SEA Games, birdied the first two holes but failed to sustain that pace as she grappled with her putter the rest of the way, stumbling with bogeys on Nos. 4 and 9 and closing out with a 36-35 card.

But that was enough to give her the lead as the rest of the field, including 30 foreign bets from six countries, groped for form on the tough layout that played longer than its 6,000 yardage.

"I played pretty well but my putting needs improvement," said Bondad, the 2004 champion who three-putted No. 9 and muffed a three-foot birdie putt on No. 18.

The 17-year-old Bondad, who fell short of her back-to-back title bid last year when she lost to eventual champion Jayvie Agojo, mixed three birdies with the same number of bogeys then watched Roberto waver in the closing holes to snatch the lead in the 54-hole tournament organized by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines (WGAP).

Roberto gunned down five birdies against four bogeys and was actually looking forward to pacing the 86-player field in the event sponsored by the First Gentleman Foundation, International Container Terminal Services, Inc., Pagcor, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Airlines, Philippine Sports Commission and Banco de Oro Private Banking.

But she bogeyed the last two holes, including the par-5 No. 18, and settled for a 72 in the event also backed by Pacific Online, Gilberto Duavit, Golden Donuts, Philippine Daily Inquirer, TNT Express, Alexis Jewelers, Electrobus Consolidated, Keystone Lamps, Crucible Gallery, All Transport Network, Carlos Palanca and Hyatt Hotels.

Jungolfer Debbie de Villa turned in a two-over par 73 as the foreign bets, led by 1993 champion Thuhachinii Selvaratnam of Sri Lanka, struggled on the unpredictable putting surface of the posh layout.

Lee Seo-Jae of Korea actually matched De Villa’s 73 for a share of third place but Selvaratnam, a University of Arizona mainstay in the US NCAA, could only churn out a 74, three-over par, in a tie with another local bet, Crystal Superal.

Dottie Ardina, a 12-year-old wonder and a former world junior champion in San Diego, served notice of her bid against the fancied players in the fold as she dished out a four-over par 75 card anchored on an impressive even par 36 at the front nine.