De Villa starts bid in tough US Am

Debbie de Villa vows to give it her best shot against the best players in the ranks as the US Women’s Amateur fires off Monday (Tuesday in Manila) with the 36-hole qualifying stage at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club’s Witch Hollow Course in North Plains, Oregon.

The par-71, 6,416-yard layout looks daunting for the diminutive Filipina shotmaker but the reigning RP Ladies Open champion remains confident of her chances, at least in the elims where the top 64 players after the 36-hole stroke play tournament will advance to the matchplay event.

De Villa, who became the youngest player to win the RP Ladies crown at 15, qualified for this tough event by finishing eighth in the Los Angeles elims last month. She had her first practice round Sunday and promptly knew that she would be in for a tough outing.

"The course is impressive, but it is long and very intimidating. It is setup like the way it was during the US Women’s Open in 2003. After playing my first practice round, I knew that it will be a challenge," said De Villa.

Coming off a third place finish in the rain-shortened Optimist Jungolf two weeks ago, De Villa drew a late tee time of 1:58 p.m. in the company of Jennie Arseneault and Katie Miller, a pair of tall and long-hitting players from Iowa and Pennsylvania, respectively.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, a dream come true for me. So I am going to make the most of it. I will play hard, give it all that I’ve got," said De Villa, one of the mainstays of ICTSI golf team.

National team coach Bong Lopez, also the man at the helm of the ICTSI golf program, admitted that making it to the last 64 would be tough for De Villa, a driven player barely five-feet tall, whose chances to make the grade rest on her short game.

"The course is too long for her. In fact, she can’t reach four par-4s. So, she really has to dish out a super short game," said Lopez. "But I’m impressed with her determination and fighting spirit."

Veteran internationalist and ICTSI mainstay Anya Tanpinco will be De Villa’s caddie for the tournament, one of the 18 prestigious events handled by the USGA.