GEN. TRIAS, Cavite. – Chihiro Ikeda banked on a huge overnight lead as she survived a horrendous final round meltdown to claim her second championship in the last four legs of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, beating Sarah Ababa by two despite a five-over 77 here Thursday.
Ikeda had built a six-shot cushion over Harmie Constantino and amateur Mikha Fortuna after 36 holes of the P1.5 million championship but went through some anxious moments before pulling through in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge at Aoki Invitational on a performance that was in stark contrast to her blistering second round 68 Wednesday.
“I played bad but still won,” said Ikeda, who banked P202,500 in a victory that came after she reigned supreme at Mt. Malarayat last May, then fought back from a share of fifth at Splendido with a joint runner-up effort at Pradera Verde last month.
“I was a little bit tired and failed to play steady. But I just kept on fighting” added the Manila Southwoods and AsiaGlobal Technologies-backed pro, who honed her skills under swing coach Bong Lopez.
She birdied the opening hole to pad her lead but bogeyed three of the next four for a 38.
She yielded two strokes on the daunting par-4 No. 13, bogeyed the next before wrapping up her 38-39 in a birdie-bogey fashion for a 216 total.
Meanwhile, Michael Bibat and Tony Lascuña closed out in scorching fashions in separate flights and forced a three-way tie for the lead as Lloyd Go slowed down with a 72 in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge at Aoki Invitational heading to a gripping finish here.
