The Women's Amateur: Malixi fights back with 69, takes on Irish in match play

MANILA, Philippines – Rianne Malixi switched it on in a switch in tee-times and the rising Filipina star barged into the match play phase of The Women’s Amateur that saw a slew of fancied bets fall prey to the vagaries of links course in Sandwich, Kent in southeast England Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time).

Beth Coulter birdied two of the last four holes to shoot a 70 and become the first Irish leading qualifier in one of the world’s premier amateur events since Paula Grant in 2017. The 19-year-old Coulter, who recently finished her freshman season at Arizona State University, clinched the low medal honors and the top seeding with a 139 total, besting four others, including world No. 1 Ingrid Lindbland by three at the Prince’s Golf Club.

On the brink of elimination, Malixi took full advantage of near-ideal conditions in the morning wave, birdying the first three holes in a fashion so stirring it hardly showed the effects of a wind-blown 79 late Tuesday in the first half of the 36-hole stroke play qualifying that dropped her to tied 100th.

But needing to rebound strong to revive her chances for a spot in the knockout stage, the ICTSI-backed ace did just that, burying a 12-foot birdie putt on the first hole, gaining another stroke from four feet on the par-5 No. 2 then hacking a solid tee shot to within five feet for another feat on the third.

Though she blasted a shot that hit the tip of the bunker and bounced back to the fairway for bogey on No. 4, Malixi quickly recovered the stroke with a long birdie putt on the next, another par-3.

She did yield another shot on the sixth after missing the green then hit a wild drive on the par-5 No. 8 that led to a lost ball and a double-bogey. But those miscues failed to dampen her spirit as she toughened up at the backside, nearly chipping in for eagle on the par-5 No. 12 for a tap-in birdie. She missed her chance on the next but came through with back-to-back birdies from No. 14 to crash into the Top 64.

Malixi, 16, muffed another birdie chance on No. 16 but closed out with a couple of par-saves off superb chip shots to preserve a three-under card before conditions turned from calm to windy in the afternoon.

From way out, the two-time AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) winner and ranked No. 93 in the world, jumped to a share for 40th at 148 with four others and drew Irish Sara Byrne in the first round of the head-to-head duels starting Thursday.

Byrne, with a world No. 280 ranking, shot a 71 after a 75 and tied for 23rd at 146 with seven others.

Meanwhile, the qualifying mark fell at seven-over 151 with 12 players still disputing the last six slots in the Top 64 in playoffs at presstime.

Among the casualties from the starting 142-player field from 37 countries, including 12 players ranked inside the Top 50 on the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, were last year’s Girls’ U-16 champion Grace Crawford (80-159) of Scotland, 2022 Women’s Amateur Latin America winner Valentina Rossi of Argentina (77-160), 2022 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific titlist Ting Hsuan Huang (72-154) from Taiwan, No. 73 Carolina Melgrati of Italy (77-155), and No. 84 Adela Cernosek of France (77-152).

But joining Coulter and Lindblad (69-142) in the next stage are world No. 3 Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Paggio (71-144), first round co-leader Silje Torvund Ohma of Norway (76-144), defending champion Jessica Baker of England (69-146), reigning WAAP champion Eila Galitsky of Thailand (73-150) and Malixi’s playing partners in stroke play Japanese Sera Hasegawa (69-142) and Swede Kajsa Arwefjall, (68-143).