Filipinas seek redemption in Asia Pacific golf tilt

MANILA, Philippines – Humbled at home, Rianne Malixi, Mafy Singson and Lois Kaye Go look to redeem themselves in Singapore when the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Championship is held March 9-12 at the Singapore Island Country Club.

But the troika will be up against practically the cast of players which dominated the recent Queen Sirikit Cup at Manila Southwoods where the locals’ best effort was fourth, courtesy of Malixi, in individual play.

The Philippine team posted a dismal ninth place finish in a field of 12, typifying the Filipina bets’, save for Malixi, four-day struggle on the course they actually had local knowledge of.

Malixi barely missed a podium finish, losing to Korean Yoo Hyun-jo in countback for the bronze. The ICTSI-backed shotmaker actually shared the lead in the first round but slowed down in the second, fought back in the next but faltered when it mattered most.

Singson struggled to finish at tied 28th while Go wound up at joint 32nd in a field of 36 but both expect to bounce back strong in Singapore.

In the upcoming As-Pac tilt, Malixi also has an unfinished business, losing steam in the final round in Thailand last November and ending up joint third to Chinese-Taipei’s Ting-Hsuan Huang and now pro Natthakritta Vongtaveelap of Thailand.

Meanwhile, reigning national stroke play champion Junia Gabasa is also competing in the four-day championship featuring a slew of world-ranked players, headed by No. 5 Yuna Araki and fellow Japanese No. 15 Mizuki Hashimoto, also the 2021 champion, No. 16 Minsol Kim and No. 19 Jiyoo Lim of Korea, No. 22 Fiona Xu of New Zealand and No. 37 Huang.

Fifth placer in Queen Sirikit, Huang is also all set for back-to-back title drive while the Koreans, who regained the Sirikit Cup crown, are likewise fancied to contend for top honors, including Seo Kyo-Rim and Yoo, along with China’s Yahui Zhang, Caitlin Peirce of Australia, Hong Kong’s Arianna Lau, Japan’s Miku Ueta, Thais Kan Bunnabodee, Ella Galitsky and Pattharat Rattanawan, and local aces Jaymie Ng, Aloysa Atienza, Jillian Kuk, Xingtong Chen, Inez Ng, Hailey Loh, Shayne Lim and Anne Fernandez.

But focus will be on India’s Avani Prashanth, who ran away with the individual honors in Sirikit Cup with an awesome display of shotmaking and putting in all four days, winning by 10 strokes over Xu.

Eighty-two bidders from 21 As-Pac countries are set to slug it out for the region’s premier women’s amateur championship in Singapore, which is hosting the annual event for the second time after staging the inaugurals in 2018.

Atthaya Thitikul topped it in a playoff that included Yuka Saso with the Thai progressing to become world No. 1 before dropping to No. 4.