MANILA, Philippines – Harmie Constantino gets an early test in her drive for a reprise as she faces a pair of title-hungry rivals in Wednesday’s start of the ICTSI Aoki Classic at the vast Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club complex in Gen. Trias, Cavite.
Daniella Uy and Sunshine Baraquiel both seek to fuel their respective bids for a first Ladies Philippine Golf Tour crown with strong starts as they join Constantino in the 8:06 a.m. flight marking the third restart of the country’s premier ladies circuit.
Rusty but highly spirited, the touring ladies set out for what is tipped to be a wide open battle for top honors in the Php750,000 event with Constantino hoping to recall the form she dished out in marking her pro debut with a victory over Princess Superal no less at the Isao Aoki-designed layout last March.
Hunger, for one, will be more than enough motivation for the rest of the field with the likes of Chanelle Avaricio, Lovelyn Guioguio, Apple Fudolin and Marvi Monsalve all itching to nail the elusive win in the event marking the LPGT resumption following its second postponement due to the spike of coronavirus cases in NCR Plus last July.
But it will also be a question of shotmaking and putting with former leg winners Chihiro Ikeda and Sarah Ababa also hopeful to get into the podium again on Friday while Shery Villasencio, Pamela Mariano, Eva Miñoza, Florence Bisera and Majorie Pulumbarit spice up the cast in the event put up by ICTSI.
The title chase is expected to be wide open with the multi-titled Superal set to leave for Japan this week to resume her own campaign in the LPGA of Japan Tour.
Meanwhile, Eagle Ace Superal, Mafy Singson and Korean Jane Jeong provide an interesting sidelight to the 54-hole event as they vie for low amateur honors although focus will be on Laurea Duque and Burberry Zhang, who are out to shoot for a follow-up to their feats at Eagle Ridge-Aoki and Sherwood Hills, respectively.
As in the past successful “bubble” tournaments, the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. is imposing strict safety measures to guarantee the health and safety of all those involved as per the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) guidelines and protocols.
The amateurs take the spotlight early with Superal and Jeong clashing at 7:30 a.m. and Singson and Duque facing off at 7:42 a.m. Avaricio, Ikeda and Zhang follow suit at 7:54 a.m. with Monsalve clashing with Villasensio and Mariano at 8:18 a.m.
Avaricio is also due for a big finish after being foiled twice by absentee Superal at Sherwood Hills and Eagle Ridge-Norman last July, while the long break is expected to have helped Ikeda heal a hand injury that has hampered her past performances.
Meanwhile, the Highlands course in Tagaytay will host the next LPGT stop — the ICTSI Tagaytay Highlands Challenge — on November 9-11 with Gretchen Villacencio joining the fray after skipping the Eagle Ridge sortie for medical reasons.
Meantime, two more tournaments are being eyed for the touring ladies at the Riviera Golf and Country Club in SIlang, Cavite on November 23-26 and November 30-December 3.