Phl eyes Top 10 as Legaspi, Superal rally

MANILA, Philippines - Miya Legaspi and Princess Superal finally hit their strides and combined for a nine-under 135 but the Philippines hardly moved from joint 14th to solo 12th in the third round of the World Amateurs Golf Team Championships still paced by Canada at the Karui East Golf Club in Karuizawa, Japan late Friday.

Legaspi and Superal sizzled in their return stint to the Oshitate course where the team pooled a so-so 143 Wednesday with the former bucking a bogey on No. 4 with six birdies, including on the par-6 18th to fire a five-under 67 after back-to-back 72s.

Superal, who settled for a 71 in the first round, gunned down three birdies in row from No. 3 then the top ICTSI-backed bet and reigning US Girls Juniors champion birdied three of the last seven to negate her bogey mishaps on Nos. 8 and 10.

But while Legaspi and Superal found their rhythm and range, Pauline del Rosario, who led the team’s bid in the second round with a 71 at Iriyama course, struggled, dropping shots on Nos. 2, 8, 12 and 14 before closing out with a birdie for a 74 and didn’t count in the three-to-play, two-to-count format event dubbed as the Espirito Santo Trophy.

With a 135, Team Phl assembled a 54-hole aggregate of 421, still way behind Canada’s 408 but just a stroke off joint 10th-running England, and Mexico, which both had 139s for 420, and four behind No. 5 Spain, which had a 417 after a 139.

Canada, behind Brooke Henderson’s 66, matched Korea’s 10-under 134 card to remain three ahead of the back-to-back defending champions, who had a 411 while Japan stood four strokes adrift at 415 after a 139. Australia is in fourth with a 416 after a 134.

Legaspi bounced back quickly with a birdie on No. 5 then birdied Nos. 8, 13, 14 and 16 before holing out with her sixth on the 733-yard No. 18 while Superal went on an early charge, flubbed a six-footer for par on the eighth and 10th but struck back with birdies on Nos. 12, 13 and 18.