Phl golfers remain in joint sixth

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines hardly recovered from a 152 with a 146 as it remained in joint sixth but fell farther behind new leader Australia in the second round of the Asia-Pacific Ladies Invitational golf team championship at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Taiwan yesterday.

Dottie Ardina, Clare Legaspi and Cyna Rodriguez all failed to sustain a solid frontside stint and stumbled at the finish, virtually bowing out of title race with a 36-hole total of 298, nine strokes behind a surging Australian side, which rallied from three shots down to seize control with a 289 after a 141.

Ardina, who with Legaspi turned in a pair of 76s Wednesday, and Rodriguez made the turn with 35s but the former sputtered with three bogeys against two birdies, including a tough one on the 17th to salvage a 72.

Rodriguez, who skied with an 80 in the first round, blew it all with a fat 9 on the finishing par-5 18th and didn’t count for the second straight day with a 77 in the 54-hole championship.

That enabled Legaspi to count again for the team although she bogeyed two of the last four holes for a 74.

Ardina’s 148 total put the top ICTSI bet five strokes behind Korean Gyeol Park and Aussie Oh Su-hyun, who fired a 71 and a 69, respectively, to share the lead in the individual competition which Ardina won in India two years ago.

Su sizzled with a 69 while Minjee Lee shot a 72 for Australia’s 141 and 289 aggregate, one shot ahead of erstwhile joint leaders Thailand and Japan, which both had 145s and 290s.