Tagaytay— Thai Ploychompoo Wilairungrueng flubbed a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 9 and settled for a 69, dropping to joint lead with compatriot Renuka Suksukont and Taiwanese Ching Huang as erstwhile leader Pannapa Polnamin faltered in the second round of the $75,000 ICTSI Champion Tour at Tagaytay Midlands here yesterday.
That final hole miss actually typified Wilairungrueng’s struggle on Midlands’ unpredictable putting surface that saw her muff six other birdie chances but the 23-year-old ace from Chiang Rai still moved in the threshold of a second straight championship as Polnamin limped with a 75 in tough condition in afternoon play.
“I’m not getting enough birdies but I’m happy to be among the leaders,” said Wilairungrueng, who ran away with the rain-shortened ICTSI Champion Tour at Manila Southwoods with a bogey-free 10-under card last week.
“I will just try to have fun tomorrow [today] and not expect too much. But make no mistake about it, I want to win again,” she added.
So do Suksukont and Huang, who shot 69 and 70, respectively, to force a three-way tie for the lead at seven-under 137 with another Thai, title-hungry Tiranan Yoopan, seizing solo fourth at 138 after a 70 and Nattagate Nimitpongkul also carding a 70 to join Polnamin at 139, guaranteeing a wild finish in the final event of this year’s Ladies Philippine Golf Tour put up by ICTSI.
But Princess Superal, the best local bet with a 68 Wednesday, dropped out of the mix as she groped for her long game after a birdie-start at the back. She bogeyed Nos. 14 and 15 and yielded four more strokes in the first three holes at the front, including a double-bogey on the par-5 second.
The back-to-back LPGT winner at Highlands and Riviera last March, however, checked her skid and racked up three straight birdies from No. 5 to save a 74. From a share of fourth, Superal fell to joint 14th at 142, five strokes behind the joint leaders.
Amateur Lois Kaye Go, however, took the cudgels for the embattled hosts as she stole the thunder in morning play by firing the day’s best 65, putting her back into contention at 140 for joint seventh with Thais Chonlada Chayanun and Supamas Sangchan, who turned in a 70 and 72, respectively.
The Asian Games-bound Go sizzled with four birdies at the back to more than make up for her shaky opening 75 Wednesday. She gunned down four more birdies at the back but fumbled on No. 9 for the second straight for the lone black mark in her otherwise superb round.
“If not for my only bogey, it would’ve been a perfect day,” said the talented Cebuana lass, who proved flawless off the mound, hitting all 14 fairways, and superb with her putting, making just 25 strokes. She spiked her impressive 33-32 card with chip-in birdies on Nos. 7 and 17.
Earlier, Ching, out to atone for a so-so tied for 34th finish last week, fought back from a one-over backside card with a closing 33, including three birdies in the first five holes, with her last-hole birdie negating a missed green bogey on No. 7.
The Taiwanese ace, who fired a solid 67 late Wednesday, opened the backside with four straight scrambling pars but ran out of escape act on No. 16 before birdying Nos. 2 and 3. She then came through with a pitch-in birdie on the par-3 fifth that put her in the hunt for the top $15,000 purse in the 54-hole championship backed by Custom Clubmakers, BDO, Meralco, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and K&G Golf.
Suksukont, the reigning Philippine Ladies Masters champion also out to make up for her joint 22nd finish last week, sustained her first round 68 with three birdies in the first 13 holes then birdied the par-3 17th for the second straight day to recover the stroke she lost on No. 14.