Ikeda powers RP to 3rd in Queen Sirikit Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Chihiro Ikeda came through with a fiery windup to fire a four-under par 70 and steer the Philippines to third place behind powerhouse Korea and Chinese-Taipei at the start of the Queen Sirikit Cup in Bali, Indonesia Wednesday.

Ikeda, 17, birdied three of the last nine holes in a solid finish at the par-74 (37-37) Nirwana Bali Golf Club-Tanah Lot for that 70 while Cyna Rodriguez shot a two-under 72 for Team RP’s six-under 142 aggregate in the 54-hole, three-to-play, two-to-count tournament also known as the Asia-Pacific Ladies Invitational Golf Team Championship.

Louise Manalo, the reigning RP Ladies Open champion, had a one-over card at the front but limped home with a bogey, a double-bogey and a triple-bogey with only a birdie to show and didn’t count with an 80.

Korea, which dominated the field to win last year’s edition of the annual event in Japan, leaned on Jang Ha-na’s sizzling seven-under 67 and Kim Sei-young’s 70 to seize the lead at 11-under 137, two ahead of Chinese-Taipei.

Park Sun-young didn’t count with a 76 for the defending champions.

The Taiwanese, behind Hsieh Yu-ling’s 68 and Tsai Pei-ying’s 71, combined for a nine-under 139 with Yao Hsuan-yu failing to count despite a solid two-under par 72 card.

It was a fine start for the ICTSI-backed RP bets, whose campaign is sanctioned by the WGAP (Women’s Golf Association of the Phils.), as they stayed within five strokes off the hot-starting Koreans with two rounds left in the 31st staging of the annual event.

Team RP, skippered by Cora Suntay, overshadowed China, which settled for joint fourth with Japan with 143s while Australia struggled with a 146 for sixth followed by Thailand (147), New Zealand (150), Malaysia (152), Indonesia (154), Hong Kong (156) and India (159) in that order.

Ikeda, winner of five events last year, including the Sabah Am, Thailand and Singapore Juniors, opened up with a birdie, dropped a shot on the next but birdied three of the next four holes. She stumbled with a double bogey on par-3 No. 7 and made the turn with a 36.

A birdie on the 10th got her going again and after a slew of pars she rolled in back-to-back birdie putts from No. 15 for that 36-34 round. She stood in fourth in the individual competition behind Jang (67), Hsieh (68) and Gu Guoyan of China (69).

Rodriguez, winner of the 2008 Pacific-Northwest Amateur tilt in the US and the Karambunai Am in Malaysia, also stumbled with a bogey on No. 2 but recovered with birdies on Nos. 5 and 9 for a 36. She played it steady at the back with eight pars and a birdie for that 72.