Ria’s dream turns to long Open ordeal

SILANG, Cavite–Her first shot landed on the left side of the par-5 10th fairway where she needed to punch out only to find her ball on the fairway trap. She hacked it out and hit the greenside bunker instead, blasted again and two-putted.

Bogey.

Save for a sprinkle of par-saving putts, a rain of bogeys and double-bogeys from what she termed "chunked shots" marred the historic debut in an all-male DHL-Philippine Open of Ria Quiazon, who expectedly succumbed to the challenge of Riviera’s tough Langer layout not to mention the pressure she exerted on herself all day long.

"Do you really want to go over my round? This would take long with the 84 strokes I made," said the 23-year-old head-turner made more stunning with her suntanned skin as she narrated her day-long ordeal to a group of reporters at Riviera’s clubhouse. "Mentally, I had a hard time. "I was like trying too hard, instead of playing golf. So I never got really comfortable."

A 15-foot bogey putt on the ninth ended her near five-hour struggle, when the wind was still at its manageable level and despite an early morning tee-off, but Quiazon gamely signed her scorecard of 84, 13-over, that was littered with bogeys (nine), double-bogeys (two) with only two regulation pars to show and gladly recounted her round as if she had just matched par.

But all through it, she humbly admitted to have played "very badly, very tentatively."

She was so tentative with her shots that she made a countless chunked shots, more specifically on the par 4 No. 2 when her 7-wood second shot fell short by 15 yards. Looking for a good pitch, she instead hit it poorly, the ball going just over a couple of yards. Shaking her head, she pitched again but instead dumped it into the greenside bunker and wound up with a double-bogey.

Back on the difficult par-4 14th, where she made another 6, the US-based six-time member of the national team drove into the left, her ball resting on a difficult lie littered with pebbles. "Nasira yata ang wedge ko nung pag-punch ko," she said.

Another missed-green bogey greeted her on No. 3 and although she managed to string three-straight up-and-down pars on the next three holes, she dropped two more strokes on two of the last three holes although she was able to match par on No. 8, the last of only two regulation pars she had made, the other being at No. 17.

"I just couldn’t let go," said Quiazon, shaking her head while groping for words to describe the manner by how she played her game. "I don’t know, but I just short-sighted my shots today."

And, perhaps, she got overwhelmed by the power of the big boys.

While flightmates Amandeep Johl of India and Prom Meeswat of Thailand were leaving her by a mile with their solid drives and using short irons for their approach shots, Quiazon was hacking it out with her 5- or 7- woods for second shots and still falling to reach the green.

"Oh, you should have seen one of my playing partners (Johl). He hits it looong," said Quiazon, wide-eyed while flashing her captivating smile.

With half of the competing field still out on the fairway mid-afternoon, Quiazon is resigned to the fact that she wouldn’t be able to make it to the Open weekend with a 13-over start.

"I just have to work on my game and hopefully find the same confidence I had in the past," said Quiazon.

Perhaps, it was the sheer excitement generated by her first stint as a pro that doubled-up the pressure on her. Or maybe the thrill of mixing it up with men of the tour. Whatever, Quiazon said she had no misgivings to have ever grabbed this rare opportunity and said she would do the same over and over again if given the same chance. — Dante Navarro