Homeward-bound Jenny settles for 9th

Jennifer Rosales comes home Friday still empty-handed —without an LPGA title she has been chasing the last four years. But with renewed confidence and mental toughness gained from a string of close finishes, she knows it’s just a matter of time before she earns her first LPGA crown.

"Sayang talaga," Jenny’s brother Gerald told The STAR, referring to his sister’s meltdown in the rain-shortened State Farm Classic Saturday where she folded up after putting herself into contention for the title run in one stretch.

It was on the par-3 No. 16 of The Rail Golf Club course in Springfield, Illinois where, after battling from four strokes down to close to within a stroke off eventual winner Candie Kung, she dumped two balls into the water and wound up with a quadruple-bogey 7.

She fell back by as many as six strokes. Worse, rains completely washed away Jenny’s chances for the title as organizers cancelled the fourth round and declared Kung the winner of the shortened 54-hole $1.2 million event.

"Subok na lang ulit. I believe it’s just a matter of time," said Gerald. "For as long as she gives herself chances, tatama din yan."

This week, however, Jenny decided to give herself a chance to rest from the demanding campaign in the lucrative circuit and is expected to arrive here Friday in time to celebrate her 25th birthday on Sept. 17.

Her joint ninth place finish in the State Farm Classic, where she tied with Fil-Am and former national teammate Dorothy Delasin and Korean ace Se Ri Pak, netted her $22,891, raising her 2003 earnings to $366,564 in 18 tournaments with six top 10 finishes.

Jenny, who came closest to winning her first crown when she lost in a playoff to Rachel Teske in the Giant Eagle Classic in Ohio, shot 68 and 67 in the first two rounds but faltered with a 73 in the third day for a 208.

Kung carded a one-under 71 Saturday for a 54-hole total of 14-under 202, one shot ahead of Laura Davies of Britain. Davies fired a bogey-free six-under-par 66 Saturday to slice three strokes off Kung’s lead.

But Davies didn’t get a chance to get closer. Play was halted due to rain at midmorning, just after Kung, Davies and Hee-Won Han of South Korea hit their first tee shots. Tournament organizers waited four hours before calling play and declaring Kung the winner. — With AP report