Del Rosario ready for LPGT return

MANILA, Philippines — Pauline del Rosario hopes to brandish the form she dished out in a triumphant rookie campaign in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour three years ago, this time armed with a swing she enhanced during the long break caused by the pandemic.

With the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. getting the IATF and Games and Amusements Board (GAB) nod to resume operations under strict health and safety guidelines, two tournaments for the men’s and ladies circuits put up by ICTSI are set for Nov. 17-20 and Dec. 8-11 at the Couples and Langer courses, respectively, of the Riviera golf complex in Silang, Cavite.

“I’ve been preparing for the resumption of the tournaments and made sure I was physically and mentally in shape,” she said.

If not for the global health crisis, she would’ve played four to five tournaments in Taiwan as part of her buildup for a crack at the LPGA Qualifying School, which was eventually cancelled.

During the hiatus, Del Rosario kept herself in form through daily workouts and doing golf drills – and like majority of the rest, she looked forward to swinging back into action before the year ends.

Meanwhile, Yuka Saso put up a late charge but stumbled with a bogey on No. 8 in a frantic attempt to stave off elimination, finishing with a 70 yesterday and out of the final round of the Itoen Ladies golf tournament heading to a thriller of a finish in Chiba, Japan.

Counting her worst start of 76 in 11 tournaments, Saso wound up with a 146 for joint 67th, two strokes off the top 50 plus ties who pooled at least a 144 to advance to the final round of the Y100 million event.

She nearly pulled off a big escape, running off three straight birdies from No. 3 of the Great Island Club course on her way home to move within two of the cutoff line at even par.