Landicho catches Agojo at helm

Villamor’s Jayvie Agojo and Lucy Landicho of Canlubang came in ruffled by the winds but found themselves sharing the lead from a helter-skelter finish as they shot 77 and 76, respectively, in the second round of the Philippine Ladies Open Golf championship at the Manila Golf Club course yesterday.

In a day of changing fortunes, Agojo bogeyed the par-4 No. 17 for a closing 39 as she fell into a tie with Landicho, whose equally sputtering windup (40) spoiled her bid to put herself alone on top of the leaderboard.

Their efforts gave them a 36-hole aggregate of 151, nine-over par over the well-kept but tight layout that proved tougher with the winds blowing from all over that bedeviled the field at the backside.

Heidi Chua, the defending champion who shared the first round lead with Agojo, Lora Roberto and Aileen Yao, likewise fumbled coming home with a 38 but she said later that it was her poor start that ruined her second round bid. She took a couple of bitter double-bogeys at the back against a birdie as she settled for 40 and 38 for a 78.

"I didn’t start right and my short game didn’t click. I tried to be consistent but those double bogeys killed me," said Chua in jest, who dropped to solo second at 152.

Hong Kong’s Betty Ng moved in at 153 after a 78 as she poised to sneak into the locals final round party today in this 54-hole event organized by the Women’s Golf Association of the Phils. (WGAP).

Roberto skied to an 81 after a closing 42 and fell four strokes off the pace at 155 where she was joined by pretty Ria Denise Quiazon, who had a forgettable 80 in the first round, after turning in the day’s best score of 75.

Worse was Yao, the 2001 champion, who failed to check her skid after opening with a 41, finishing with a 43 for an 84 and a 158.

Still experts believe that seven-stroke deficit remains manageable considering the caliber of the contending players and especially on a course like Manila Golf which requires consistency and where errant drives and flawed shots could punish even the most conservative player in the fold.

"One has to be consistent here. Konting slice ka lang dito, sa mga puno ka na pupulutin," said the 16-year-old Agojo, bracing for another milestone in an already checkered young career.

Down by one at the turn, Agojo, the first Filipino woman player to win at the Optimist International in Florida last year, did find herself under the trees on the par-4 10th where she had to use her putter to play out of stymied lie. She failed and needed to play out for the second time.

One down at the start of the round, Landicho put in a gutsy even par 36 at the front to seize control, but bogeys No. 10, birdied the next before tumbling with a double bogey on No. 12.

After a slew of pars, the 28- year-old Canlubang bet dropped another stroke on the par-4 No. 17 and then missed gaining the solo lead when she drove into the trees on the par-5 18th where she needed five shots to reach the green.

The comely 28-year-old long-hitter, whose best-finish here was eighth last year, could only shake her head in disbelief.