Spruced up to championship condition, the Summit Point Golf and Country Club course will test the shot-making skills and mental toughness of the ladies of the Philippine Golf Tour when The Women’s Championship is held tomorrow (Wednesday, June 13) in Lipa City, Batangas.
For one, each hole replicates the famous golf holes in the world and changes in character in every swirl of the wind, particularly at this time of the season with a forecast of showers and thunderstorm in spots in the next four days.
Despite the rains spawned by Typhoon Domeng, the par-72 layout remains in top form, ready to challenge the field right at the start of the P1.5 million championship serving as the ninth leg of the Ladies PGT put up by ICTSI.
“Our course maintenance, VMJ, has been working very hard to give the participants a very good course,” said Vic de Guzman, general manager of Summit Point, which will also host welcome cocktails for the participants today (Tuesday).
Forty-four players from five countries are all primed-up for the 54-hole tournament with powerhouse Thailand seeking a fifth win in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, Supakchaya Pattaranakrueang and Onkanok Soisuwan each shoot for a second victory this year while the rest of Thailand’s crack 21-player contingent are also aiming to grab the spotlight and build some momentum heading to the two Taiwan LPGA-sanctioned events.
Among the three, Kawinpakorn, who won at Beverly Place in Pampanga last January, looks all geared up for another victory after the veteran campaigner topped China LPGA Zhuhai Heritage in Guangdong just last Saturday.
But the locals also vowed to stop the Thais’ domination of the circuit following Pattaranakrueang and Soisuwan’s victories at Luisita and Mt. Malarayat in the last two legs of the circuit backed by Custom Clubmakers, BDO, Meralco, Sharp, KZGm PLDT, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and K&G Golf.
Cyna Rodriguez, a former three-time Order of Merit winner, and recent Eagle Ridge leg champion Chihiro Ikeda spearhead the local challenge along with Gretchen Villacencio, Alex Etter, Lucy Landicho, Marvi Monsalve and former leg titlist Sarah Ababa.
LK Go, meanwhile, banners a crack roster of amateurs raring to prove their worth in big-time tournaments. Others vying in the event are Kelly Marutani of Japan, Korean Hyun Ji Rho, Kim Hui Won, Kwon Tae Won and Jang Yunji, Sharon Park of Canada and locals Kristine Torralba, Diana Araneta and Mafy Singson and Laia Barro of The Country Club.