Arevalo gets boost in El Dorado golf bid

MANILA, Philippines – While Clariss Guce and Dottie Ardina are all primed for another shot at the Epson Tour crown, Abby Arevalo revels in some kind of recognition after being named one of three players to watch in the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout firing off Friday (Saturday, Manila time) at the Mystic Creek Golf Club in Arkansas.

The Tour website cited the rookie Filipina shotmaker’s best result in last week’s Guardian Championship where she rallied to tie for fourth, saying: “She is now No. 88 on the Epson Tour’s official money list and looks to power through the rest of the season.”

After a not-so-encouraging maiden season marred by six missed cuts and a tied for 38th in the Wildhorse Ladies Classic as her previous best, Arevalo’s joint fourth effort indeed underscores her readiness to go all the way with the ICTSI-backed bet hoping to cash in on an early start to fuel her title drive in the $225,000, 54-hole championship.

She tees off at 7:41 a.m. on No. 1 with American Kristen Gillman and Taiwanese Ching Huang, a former winner on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

Guce, meanwhile, seeks to complete an unfinished business as she launches her bid for a third Tour victory at 12:33 p.m. on No. 10 with Jillian Hollis of the US and Korean Kum Kang Park.

Guce fought back from two-down and wrested control with a solid frontside 32 but fumbled with a late mishap, enabling Maria Torres to snatch the Guardian Championship crown in Pratville, Alabama.

Ardina, on the other hand, tries to score a follow-up to her breakthrough win in the Copper Rock Championship in Utah last April as the veteran campaigner, also backed by ICTSI and plays in the LPGA, clashes with Canadian Selena Costable and Spain’s Marta Barrio at 8:03 a.m., also at the backside of the par-72 layout.

Meanwhile, the Tour’s other top picks are Torres, who missed six consecutive cuts before posting her maiden win in the Guardian Championship, and Park, who ruled this event last year.