Ikeda nips Del Rosario on second playoff hole

TAGAYTAY , Philippines  —  Chihiro Ikeda birdied the par-5 18th twice, the first forcing a playoff with fancied Pauline del Rosario and the second clinching the hotly disputed ICTSI Tagaytay Midlands Ladies Challenge crown at the Midlands course here yesterday.

Ikeda watched Del Rosario miss an eight-footer for birdie on their third trip on the 18th, kept her composure then calmly drilled in a six-foot birdie putt to clinch the victory that snapped a long title spell on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

The duo pounced on erstwhile leader Daniella Uy’s final round collapse to finish tied at 215 after 54 holes with Ikeda holing out with a birdie in regulation to save a 72 and force a playoff with Del Rosario, who rallied from seven down with a closing bogey-free 69 to pool a one-under overall total in the P750,000 event which served as the ninth leg of the seventh season of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

Uy held on to the lead despite an opening 40 but the former Junior World titlist blew it all with a bogey on the 17th. She wound up with a birdie-less 77 and ended up third at 217.

After both parred the first playoff hole, also on No. 18, they changed tactics in their third approach on the dog-leg right finishing hole with Ikeda going for the right side of the green and Del Rosario opting to hit it on the left.

“I went for the right side because I felt the angle there is much easier,” said Ikeda, who pocketed the top P150,000 purse after nailing her first win on the LPGT in 15 months.

“I targeted the left side of the green because I had a hard time pitching on the right. It’s just too bad I missed my birdie putt,” said Del Rosario, who nearly pulled off one of the stirring comebacks in the circuit put up by ICTSI by battling back from seven down with a solid three-under card spiked by a birdie-birdie feat from No. 16 coming off an hour-long rain delay.

But she missed winning it outright in regulation with a muffed birdie try on the 18th from just about the same distance in their second playoff hole.

Still, the runner-up finish and her runaway triumph at Royal Northwoods last month should be enough to boost her confidence as she hurriedly left for the US for a series of tournaments in Florida as part of her buildup for the LPGT Tour Qualifying School this August.