Superal sizzles with 60, leads by 4

BAGUIO, Philippines - – Amateur Princess Superal came out a bit better than pro Chihiro Ikeda in their backside hunt for eagles and birdies that came like rain at Camp John Hay course here yesterday, firing a brilliant, bogey-free nine-under 60 and seizing a big four-stroke lead at the start of the P500,000 ICTSI Camp John Hay Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

Two eagles at the backside of the par-69 layout spiked a fiery windup for the young, talented shotmaker from the ICTSI golf stable, who closed out with a seven-under 27 for that 60 – putting her well ahead of a stunned field, including Ikeda, who matched Superal’s two-eagle feat a flight behind but still trailed by four with a 64.

“I just had a good day. Solid drives, iron shots and putting,” said Superal, humbled rather than proud of her feat that came close to matching Carl Santos-Ocampo’s 58 on a par-68 yardage in last year’s ICTSI John Hay Invitational of the men’s pro circuit.

Although Superal fashioned out her latest exploit on a composite blue-white tee set-up, it still showed the brilliance in the diminutive 16-year-old lass, who birdied Nos. 1 and 6 then turned on the heat on a cold day with a solid iron game that set up short birdies on Nos. 10, 11 and 13.

Superal, who missed just two fairways and greens, holed out from 67 yards out on the par-4 No. 14 for her first eagle then hit a 3-wood second shot from 200 yards on the par-5 16th – so solid that the ball rolled and rested to within four tee off the target with the flight ahead of them – Eva Miñoza, Sylvia Torres and Korean amateur Shin Hye Min – still making their last putt.

Ikeda drove the 247-yard par-4 No. 12 to within six feet off the cup then two-putted on No. 16 before completing her big rebound from a one-over card at the turn with birdies on the last two holes for a 28 and a 64.

Pauline del Rosario, the other top amateur from Team ICTSI, shot an impressive three-under 66 for solo third, highlighting her 33-33 round with an eagle-2 on the 267-yard, par 4 No. 8 which she drove to within eight feet.

“I’m very happy with my round but I have to work on my putting. I had another eagle try but I missed.” said Del Rosario

Thai invitee Amolkan Phalajibin missed joining Del Rosario at third with a bogey-bogey finish as the comely veteran of the Asian Ladies Tour and China Tour settled for a one-under 68 for joint fourth with Lucy Landicho, who rallied with an eagle and a birdie on the last three holes to salvage a 37-31 card.

Amateur Abby Arevalo, another Team ICTSI mainstay and winner of the individual crown in the just-concluded PAL Ladies Interclub, birdied two of the last seven holes to card a one-over 70 for solo sixth in the 54-hole championship serving as the final leg of the five-stage inaugural ladies pro circuit sponsored by ICTSI.

Cyna Rodriguez failed to recover from a poor start of 38 and hobbled with her putting stroke all day, limping with a four-over 73 in a tournament she was heavily favored to win after romping off with back-to-back title romps at ICTSI Eagle Ridge and Wack Wack legs in her pro debut.

“My drives were on form but my putting was really off today,” rued Rodriguez, who had three three-putts and fell 13 strokes behind Superal in the company of Lovelynn Guioguio (38-35) and amateur Felicia Medalla (37-36), who ruled the recent national match play championship.

Jayvie Agojo, the other pre-tournament favorite in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and backed by Nike Golf, Pacsports, Gatorade, Sharp and Custom Clubmakers, birdied the opening hole but had a roller-coaster ride on the rolling layout the rest of the way, fumbling with four bogeys and one double-bogey again two more birdies for a three-over 72.

The former Philippine Ladies Open champion, who had two runner-up and fifth place finishes going into this event, dropped into a tie with amateurs Mikaela Fortuna (37-35) and Sam Bruce (36-36), 12 shots off Superal.