Pinays, Dottie remain at 2nd in Sirikit Cup

MANILA, Philippines –  Dottie Ardina blew a four-under par card with a double-bogey mishap on No. 18, settling for a 70 as Team Philippines fell farther back by six behind South Korea in the second round of the 33rd Queen Sirikit Cup in New Delhi, India Thursday.

Ardina, who a 71 in the first round, hooked her 3-wood tee-shot on the par-5 closing hole into the woods and needed to sink a 12-foot putt for double-bogey, the only black mark in her otherwise superb round at the Delhi Golf Club.

With Jayvie Agojo fight back from a 78 with a 71, the Phl, which started the round just two shots off Korea, turned in an impressive three-under 141 for a 288 but found itself trailing the defending four-time champions by six heading into the final round of the 54-hole tournament which lured 14 nations from the Asia-Pacific region.

Korea lived up to the hype as it pooled a 137 with Ji Hee Kim firing a 68 and defending individual champion and world No. 1 Hyo Joo Kim shoting a second straight 69 for a 36-hole haul of 282.

New Zealand remained in third at 296 after a 146 while Chinese-Taipei had a 151 after a 145 and China assembled a 145 for a 297.

Chihiro Ikeda wound up with a triple bogey on the tight par-5 14th for an 82 and didn’t count for the team, whose campaign is sanctioned by the WGAP (Women’s Golf Association of the Phils.) and sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

“Dottie played another solid game except for that double-bogey,” said Phl coach and ICTSI team mentor Bong Lopez of her prized ward, who birdied Nos. 5, 8, 11 and 15.

“Jayvie also hit it straight off the tee all day and could’ve shot better but missed birdie putts inside six feet in the last four holes,” said Lopez, adding that he expects Ikeda to rebound from a bogey-riddled round after fixing her tempo.

Ardina’s 141 aggregate was three off Hyo’s 138 with the 17-year-old Filipina vowing to give it her best shot to overcome the fancied Korean and deliver a win for the team, which finished eighth in New Zealand last year.