Malixi falls short as Romero pulls off 1-up win

MANILA, Philippines -- Rianne Malixi staggered at resumption and lost whatever rhythm she had built in a brave morning stand. 

She yielded a 1-up result – and the championship – to Kiara Romero of the US in the US Girls’ Junior at the Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue course in Colorado Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).

Malixi missed a couple of birdie chances in the last five holes in her attempt to extend the match and Romero held sway after seizing the lead for only the second time on No. 31 as she matched the Filipina ace’s run of five pars to clinch the coveted crown.

The victory also netted the 17-year-old Romero, an incoming University of Oregon freshman and whose mother is a Filipina, an exemption to next year’s US Women’s Open and an invitation to the 2024 Augusta Women’s amateur.

It was a heart-breaker of a setback for Malixi, who had hoped to cap an incredible journey in the week marked by a steal of a win over Audrey Rischer in the Round of 16 and a couple more of gutsy wins with a crowning glory to what had been a sterling amateur career.

In an exacting finale that ran through all 36 holes, Malixi gained control early and raced to two-hole leads twice, the last on No. 16 on a Romero mishap, and wrapped up the first 18 holes still up by one after bogeying the 18th.

But Malixi struggled coming off the break, dropping a stroke on the 22nd hole (No. 4) to enable the lanky Romero to force an all-square match and making another miscue on the 26th (No. 8) to trail in the match for the first time.

She drew level as Romero failed to get up and down on the 28th (No. 10), only to fall behind again with another bogey on No. 31 (par-3 No. 13), which she parred in the morning battle.

Romero, who finished third behind winner Kaitlyn Schroeder and runner-up Malixi in last year’s Girls Junior PGA Championship in Illinois, then kept her nerves in the stretch and matched Malixi’s pars in the last five holes, foiling the latter’s stab at matching ICTSI stablemate Princess Superal's record win in the 2014 edition of the annual event in Arizona.