TRECE MARTIRES, Cavite. – Chihiro Ikeda, her injured hand not yet fully healed, took charge in a topsy-turvy opener of the ICTSI Sherwood Ladies Challenge Wednesday, banking on a late eagle on her way to a two-under 70 and a two-stroke lead over Gretchen Villacencio and Chanelle Avaricio here.
The leaderboard shuffled on every converted putt and missed shot before the Fil-Japanese surged ahead on back-to-back birdies to close out her frontside stint at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club with a 34.
She, however, went on a bogey-birdie-bogey roll from No. 11 to barely cling onto the lead but drained an eagle on the par-5 15th before losing steam at the end of the scorching day, bogeying the 18th and missing padding her lead to three.
“I didn’t expect to go under. I was looking at a 3-over start which I think is good given the long layoff,” said Ikeda. “But I still feel the pain (in my left hand) all throughout.”
Villacencio missed grabbing solo second as she matched flightmate Ikeda’s closing bogey for a 70, the same output of Avaricio who blew a lone birdie on the par-3 11th with a bogey on the par-5 15th even as fancied Harmie Constantino and Princess Superal struggled with identical 74s.
Constantino, who marked her pro debut with a two-shot victory over Superal in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge last March before play was suspended, and Daniella Uy shared the early lead with birdies on Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, with the unfancied Villacencio grabbing the spotlight next with back-to-back birdies from No. 4 before slipping to second with a bogey on the ninth.
After a birdie-bogey card after eight holes, Ikeda took command on that hot frontside finish and held sway to the finish in an inspiring start for a player who pulled off a victory over Pauline del Rosario in sudden death with an injured hand to claim her last crown at the Tagaytay Midlands in 2019.
She went on an on-and-off campaign trying to buck that injury, barely losing the Summit Point title by one to Korean Hwang Min-Jeong at the close of the seventh season of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. She also skipped the Eagle Ridge Challenge last March.
