"Hindi kami nakapag-praktis, biglang bumagyo dito kaya sa hotel lang kami," said Rosales’ coach Bong Lopez in a text message to The STAR yesterday.
It was a day which Rosales and Lopez had looked forward to with excitement having had a full, well-deserved rest after a long journey from Manila to Queensland Sunday and after a hot and humid day at the driving range Monday.
But the weather proved uncooperative at the seaside course, forcing the 24-year-old ace Filipina shotmaker to spend her day inside her room watching films on DVDs instead of familiarizing herself with the par 35-37 layout, venues of this week’s $800,000 ANZ Ladies Masters.
"Sa sobrang lakas ng ulan, they closed the course," said Lopez. "Hopefully, bukas (today), makapalo at makalaro dahil hindi basta-basta ang mga kalaban dito."
With Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb heading the cast in the rich event, the field is indeed tough made more formidable with the presence of Korean ace Se Ri Pak, Rachel Teske and defending champion Laura Davies plus the other mainstays of the LPGA Tour.
Although it is outside of the lucrative LPGA Tour, the ANZ Ladies Masters serves as Rosales’ kickoff tournament this season where she hopes, and promises, to come out strong in a bid to snap a four-year title drought.
Now the chief endorser of PLDT Global, Rosales nearly won the Giant Eagle Classic last year but succumbed to pressure in a three-hole playoff loss to Teske. She also has had a series of late-round foldups in a number of events where she contended for the crown, skids she hopes to arrest this season with renewed confidence and mental toughness not to mention a newfound strength. — Dante Navarro