Ikeda trails by 6 after poor 74

MANILA, Philippines - Chihiro Ikeda sputtered after a birdie opening as she hobbled with poor putting and settled for a two-over par 74 to drop six strokes behind Ayako Uehara at the start of the Suntory Ladies Open golf tournament at the Rokko Kokusai Golf Club in Hyogo, Japan yesterday.

Ikeda, one of the only eight amateurs invited to the 72-hole pro tournament of the Japan Ladies PGA Tour, made a fine birdie start on the par-5 No. 1 but failed to sustain her charge and struggled the rest of the way on the long, narrow layout with thick roughs and fast greens.

The top ICTSI bet, coming off a victory in the Singapore Ladies Amateur Open, bogeyed the par-5 No. 4 and dropped two more strokes on Nos. 8 and 14 for nines of 37s.

She dropped to a share of 41st with 14 others, including fellow amateur Hsuan Yu Ya of Taiwan.

“She hit it well but she struggled on the putting surface. She needs to focus on the speed of the greens, not quite undulating but very fast. She really need to place the ball on the proper side of the flag to avoid three-putts,” said coach Bong Lopez.

Ikeda and Ya also emerged the leading amateurs in the four-day championship with Harukyo Nomura fumbling with a 75, Jiayun Li limping with a 76 and Thai ace Yupapork Kawinpakorn making a 79.

Uehara sizzled with two eagles and shot three birdies against a double-bogey and a bogey for a 34-34 card as she opened a one-stroke lead over Kaori Aoyama, a one-time winner in the JLPGA who outplayed Ikeda in their flight.