BAGUIO CITY. — Ronee Dungca barged into the ICTSI Elite Junior Finals the hard way, but did so in emphatic fashion – sharing the top spot in the girls’ 7-10 age group category with a 71 at the close of a rain-disrupted John Hay JPGT Championship here Wednesday.
Despite missing the first four legs of the seven-stage regional tour, Dungca made a stunning late-season charge. The nine-year-old swept the last three legs, matching Mavis Espedido’s three-leg sweep worth 45 points each to advance to the finals of the season-long, course-hopping series organized to discover and develop young talent from across the country’s provinces.
Dungca, Espedido and two others will now square off with the top qualifiers from the Visayas-Mindanao swing in a Ryder Cup-style showdown set for Oct. 7-10 at The Country Club in Laguna.
Dungca’s closing two-over card gave her a 36-hole total of 143 for a 12-shot victory over Tyra Garingalao of Carmona, Cavite, who posted a 75 for a 155. Amiya Tablac of Baguio City finished third with a 163 after an 80.
Venus delos Santos, who was in third place in the overall standings before the final leg, recovered from a disastrous opening-round 92 with a 74. But Dungca’s spectacular finish ultimately denied the Bulacan native a place in the finals.
Winter Serapio seized the third finals berth with 37 points, while Garingalao clinched the fourth and final slot with 36 points – buoyed by the crucial 12 points she earned for her second-place finish.
Delos Santos wound up with 34 points.
Dungca began the final round with the same fiery form that marked her opening performance, again carding three birdies early on. However, she also replicated her struggles – double-bogeying the fourth and dropping strokes on Nos. 6 and 9.
Still, the Angeles City prodigy rebounded with birdies on Nos. 10 and 12. But the par-5 16th proved to be her nemesis once more, as she dropped two shots there for the second straight day. Then came the weather.
As Dungca approached the par-3 finishing hole, heavy rains swept through the John Hay course, prompting organizers Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. to suspend play in the 11-14 and 15-18 age group divisions for over an hour and a half.
The sudden downpour turned the already-challenging layout into a test of endurance and mental focus, with puddles forming on fairways and greens, and visibility sharply reduced. Despite these tough conditions, Dungca held her nerve to complete her round, bogeying the last hole but securing her place at the top of the leaderboard.
In the boys’ 7-10 division, Zoji Edoc emerged as the winningest player, securing four leg victories. He capped his campaign with a second straight 71 for a 142 total – 10 strokes ahead of local favorite Marco Angheng, who ended with a 152 after a 78.
Michael Matias of Quezon City finished third at 175, followed by Samuel Ababa (100-182) and Jethro Bayron (106-205).
Edoc, a bronze medalist in the recent Junior World Championships in San Diego, also shared the top finals seeding with Zach Guico, both earning 45 points. Asher Abad and Halo Pangilinan completed the list of finalists, each collecting 34 points.
The players’ top three results from the seven-leg Luzon series determined their final rankings.
The final race for spots in the 11-14 and 15-18 divisions was still ongoing at press time.
