Daniela Uy, deemed the least-credentialed among the four Filipinas, defied expectations as she emerged the standout performer after 18 holes of the Asia Pacific Cup, matching par 72 to trail Thai ace Atthaya Thitikul and three others, including Korean amateur Hyosong Lee, by four in Indonesia Thursday.
Uy mixed two birdies with the same number of bogeys at the Pondok Indah Golf Course in Jakarta that provided a stern test for a diverse field slugging it out for top honors and princely prizes both in individual competition and team play spread over three days.
The reigning Ladies Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit champion set her bid in motion with a birdie on No. 2 but a slip on the par-3 No. 8 and a subsequent bogey on the 10th tested her mettle. Undeterred, Uy rebounded with a birdie on No. 11, setting the stage for a gutsy run of pars that led to a pair of 36s for a share of 14th with Japanese Nasa Hataoka, Diksha Dagar of India and Korean amateur Minson Kim.
Bianca Pagdanganan posted a one-over 73 while defending champion and fellow ICTSI-backed campaigners Princess Superal and LPGA and Epson Tour veteran Dottie Ardina wavered with 74s in a wobbly start for the three seasoned campaigners tipped to contend and keep the individual crown for the country.
The big-hitting Pagdanganan failed to get untracked although she managed to bounce back from two mishaps (Nos. 2 and 8) with birdies (Nos. 4 and 12) before running out of holes to essay another rebound from a third miscue on No. 16. She ended up with a 37-36 for joint 18th.
Superal sparked hopes for a great start to a title-retention bid with a birdie on No. 3. But the 26-year-old grappled with the challenging course and fouled up on Nos. 6 and 9, both par-5s, and yielded another stroke on No. 10 to fall off the leaderboard.
She birdied the 11th but dropped another stroke on No. 16 and reeled with a pair of 37s and a share of 24th with nine others in the event organized by Asia Golf Leaders Forum.
That included Ardina, who bogeyed two of the first three holes and made miscues on Nos. 6 and 8 to negate a birdie on the par-3 fifth for a frontside 39. She settled down with pars and a birdie at the back while missing a couple of chances that stymied her comeback bid.
Thitikul, meanwhile, rode on a three-birdie binge from No. 10 on her way home en route to a 68 as she forced a four-way tie for the individual lead with compatriot Phannarai Meesom-us and Koreans Dayeon Lee and amateur Hyosong Lee.
Meeson-us turned in the best card of four-under after 11 holes, including back-to-back feats from No. 10 then endured a two-bogey, two-birdie windup for a 34-34, while Dayeon Lee shot five birdies against a bogey for a 35-33.
Away from the spotlight, Hyosong Lee sizzled with three birdies in the first four holes at the back. She gained another stroke on the par-5 18th then atoned from a bogey on the seventh with a closing birdie for a 36-32.
The four leaders took a two-stroke lead over Thai amateur Eila Galitsky, Koreans Heejeong Lim and Minbyelo Kim, and New Zealand’s Fiona Xu, who matched 70s, while five others, including Japan’s Saki Baba, shot similar 71s to stay in the mix.
Meanwhile, Team Korea 5 set the paced in team competitions with a 140, just a stroke ahead of Thailand 2 and 4 while Team Korea 3 pooled a 142.
Team PH 1, made up of Uy and Ardina, tied Japan 2 at 10th with 146 while Team PH 2 of Pagdanganan and Superal shared 12th spot with Japan 1 at 145.