Late surge fuels ICTSI bets’ banner season

MANILA, Philippines -  A stirring five-win streak in a six-week stretch late in the season turned what had seemed to be a mediocre campaign by the ICTSI-The Country Club ladies squad into a remarkable season.

Jayvie Agojo sparked the season-ending blast with a victory in the Santi Cup, the ladies championship of the Putra Cup, in Indonesia last September before Cyna Rodriguez (Hong Kong Ladies Amateur Open), Dottie Ardina (Cangolf Amateur and Taiwan Amateur Open) and Princess Superal (Malaysian Juniors Open) followed suit.

After a fourth place finish in Indonesia Open that broke the run, Ardina took the Penang Amateur Open title then led a stirring sweep of the ICTSI-TCC bets – along with Superal and Sarah Ababa – of the three titles in the Singapore Juniors Championships early this month.

All told, the team racked up 23 victories, including nine by Superal and seven by Ardina, while making an impact in a series of tournament in the US and Australia, where it impressed even the national team from Down Under after Ardina set a new course record 65 at the Dunes.

It was actually a season marked by a number of feats capped by Ardina’s rise to number 45 in the women’s world amateur golf rankings where she moved four rungs after leading the team’s sweep in Singapore.

In fact, the top seven Filipino players in the list are all ICTSI-TCC members, including Superal, who rose from 120 to No. 109, Agojo now at 148 from 155, Mia Piccio from 172 to 165, Rodriguez at 248 from 256, Sarah Ababa at 401 from 440 and Lovelynn Guioguio from 487 to 474.

“Dottie is slowly but surely climbing to the elite circle while Princess is vastly improving and they’re raring to get go next year,” said ICTSI team coach Bong Lopez, who has tapped new recruits in tall and promising Sophia Chabon from Cagayan and Abbey Arevalo from Manila.

Ardina and Superal are also expected to gain more points pending the result of their Singapore romp.

The ICTSI coaches cited the efforts of ICTSI PR manager Narlene Soriano for her all-out support and trust in the team’s program as well as that of ICTSI chief Ricky Razon, who has provided the inspiration while reminding them of the importance of putting and short game.

“He’s on top of the program. Though he is a very busy man, Mr. Razon always sees to it that he’s keeping track of the progress of the players,” said ICTSI coach Nestor Mendoza.

Despite falling short at the TransNational Championship in South Carolina, a major part of the US Women’s Amateur series, where she lost to Aussie top player Breanna Elliot in the finals, Superal gained precious ranking points that put her within the top 100 in the world.

“By finishing second in a strong tournament, Princess earned a remarkable 104 points in the Royal and Ancient World Rankings. She also made it to the US Girls finals in Lake Merced, California,” added Mendoza, impressed with Superal transformation from a so-so player to a top-caliber shotmaker.