Saso, pal rally to tie for 3rd; Del Rosario stumbles

MANILA, Philippines -- Yuka Saso and Celine Boutier fought back with a solid eight-under 62 in better ball format but came up short by three as they settled for joint third in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational ruled by Americans Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol in Midland, Michigan Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).

Saso and Boutier mounted their charge from six down with four frontside birdies and matched that binge at the back of the Midland Country Club for a pair of 31s after struggling for a combined even-par 70 in alternate shot play in the third round.

But Knight and Szokol, who rallied from a share of sixth to the top of the heap in the only team event on the LPGA Tour with a 62 Friday, hung tough in the clutch, coming through with three birdies in the last seven holes to fire 65 and a 72-hole total of 23-under 257 and edge Finland’s Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan of Malaysia by one.

Castren and Tan put in a 63 for a 258.

Knight and Szokol took home the top $326,872 prize while Castren and Tan pocketed $160,017.

Saso and Boutier’s hot finish tied them with the Jodi Shadoff-Emma Talley and Celine Borge-Polly Mack pairs, who matched 63s, at 260. Each team received $77,400.

Bianca Pagdanganan and partner Ana Belac carded a 67 to tie for ninth at 266 while ICTSI stablemate Dottie Ardina and Thai Pornanong Phatlum batlted back with a 64 but finished way behind at joint 26th with a 271.

The $2.7-million event served as a prelude to this week’s $6.5 million Evian Championship, the year’s fourth major championship, firing off July 27 at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France where Saso is entered.Pagdanganan and Ardina are on the reserved list.

In New York, Pauline del Rosario floundered with a three-over 74 after a 69 but safely made the cut at joint 19th in the Twin Bridges Championship at the Pinehaven Country Club in Guilderland, also Saturday.

Jenny Bae of the US, meanwhile, moved 18 holes away from becoming the first back-to-back leg winner on the Epson Tour this year as she shot a 69 at the par-71 layout for a 134, two strokes ahead of Italian Roberta Liti, who pooled a 136 after a 68.

Aussie Gabriela Ruffels also turned in a 69 but stood another two shots farther back at 138.

Del Rosario, whose campaign is also supported by the world's leading port operator, hit just two birdies and faltered with five bogeys, ending up with a 36-hole aggregate of 143, nine shots off Bae, who won the Hartford Healthcare Championship in a three-player playoff last week in Connecticut.

Filipino-American Clariss Guce also limped with a 76 and barely made the cut at tied 59th at 147 while Chanelle Avarico failed to advance with a 149 after a 76, along with Samantha Bruce, who made an 82 after a 71 for a 153.

Abby Arevalo also bombed out with a 157 after a 76.