Fortuna boots out Ikeda, advances to final vs Duque

SANTA ROSA, Laguna, Philippines — Mikha Fortuna moved a step closer to claiming her first pro victory, securing a decisive 4&3 triumph over Chihiro Ikeda to seal a championship clash with amateur Laurea Duque in the ICTSI The Country Club Match Play Invitational at the TCC course here yesterday.

Fortuna, 23, maintained her composure and executed her game plan in near-impeccable fashion, winning two of the first six holes and establishing a 4-up lead after 11.

Despite a stumble on the 13th, she stayed in control en route to victory, adding to her string of dominant runs, including a 5&3 romp over last year’s champion and top seed Harmie Constantino and a 5&4 win over Korean Seoyun Kim.

Fortuna emphasized the importance of sticking to her game plan and staying patient. With one match to play, she has secured the top P280,000 purse in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour side of the head-to-head duels as she faces amateur Duque in the final.

“The key to winning today (yesterday) was pretty much the same – sticking to my game play and staying patient out there,” said Fortuna.

Despite her frustration after a setback on No. 13, she cited Ikeda’s strong play and putting skills.

“Like I said, it was easy to get frustrated towards the backnine. I wasn’t getting what I wanted,” said Fortuna. “I had one bogey and I kind of got like, frustrated in a way. But I just stuck to it (plan) so it pretty worked.”

Despite the margin of victory, Fortuna said: “Ikeda played very good, putted really good. It’s just like I just had more birdie opportunities.”