Rianne Malixi brushed off local ace Udkamtiang Ausanee’s fierce backside charge with a solid frontside run and went on to fashion out an emphatic three-stroke victory in women’s Class A of the Thailand Junior World Golf Championships with a closing 68 in Hua Hin yesterday.
Edison Tabalin later completed the Philippines’ domination of the premier division as he holed out with a pressure-packed par to save a 74 and beat Liberto Lapassapon by two on a 299 total.
Tabalin, whose 79 start dropped him to joint 12th Thursday, hardly gained with a 76 in the second round but moved within two off compatriot and third round leader Jacob Cajita with a best 70 Saturday.
As Cajita floundered with backside 41, Tabalin grabbed the lead with a two-birdie, one-bogey card then bucked a shaky frontside windup of bogeys on Nos. 5, 7 and 8 with a clutch closing par to clinch the victory.
Lapassapon threatened to within one heading to No. 9 but fumbled trying to force a playoff with a birdie, ending up instead with a bogey for a 76 and a 301 for joint second with Cajita, who wound up with a 78.
Tabalin also nipped Cajita in sudden death in the Luisita Junior Championship last month, a qualifier for this week’s Thai premier junior event.
Earlier Malixi birdied three of the first six holes at the back on their way hole and pulled away by four as Ausanee failed to a sustain a hot backside 32 that pulled her to within one off the top young Filipina shotmaker, settling for a 36 and matching the former’s closing four-under card.
Not even a bogey on No. 7 could spoil the title drive of the ICTSI-backed ace, who clinched the host country’s premier junior diadem with a 72-hole total of three-under 285.
The victory came on the heels of the 15-year-old Royal Northwoods stalwart’s playoff setback to Vongtaveelap Natthakritta, 20, in last week’s Thailand Amateur Open in Bangkok that saw her fight back from four shots down in the last 18 holes to force a playoff.
The win likewise highlighted Malixi’s prolific season that included two victories in the American Junior Golf Association and two on the local pro circuit. She actually kicked off her win run with a 15-stroke romp in the Midlands leg of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour’s final event in 2021 last December.
“I played well in the Thai Amateur and it gave me confidence this week,” said Malixi, mentored by Canadian Rick Gibson and supported by Sky Flakes and Lola Nena’s.
With Thitikarn failing to match Malixi’s frontside charge, Ausanee took the challenger’s role but could only match the Filipina ace’s four-under card. She actually pulled within one with a solid 32 at the back but settled for a frontside 36 and finished with a 288.
Thirikarn ended up third at 292 after a 73.
The other Filipino bets, however, struggled in other age-group brackets with Shinichi Suzuki and Reese Ng ending up sixth in women’s Class B with a 75 for a 312 with French Louise Landgraf completing a wire-to-wire triumph with a 287 after a 72.
Earlier, Geoffrey Tan and David Teves finished joint and ninth with 86-250 and 84-251, respectively, in the 54-hole boys’ Class C ruled by Thai R. Pranai (76-221); Nicole Gan and Lisa Sarines wound up sixth and seventh with 82-256 and 85-260, respectively, in girls’ Class C topped by local bet T. Wirada (74-222).
Jared Saban placed fourth with 8-245 in boys’ Class D topped by Thai R. Patchirawat (77-226) with Ryuji Suzuki and Vito Sarines ending up eighth and ninth 88-263 and 88-264, respectively; and Brittany Tamayo finished seventh with 88-267 in girls’ Class D ruled by Thai J. Paricha (74-223).