RP youngsters 18 shots adrift in World Am

STELLENBOSCH, South Africa — The youthful Philippine ladies squad succumbed to overwhelming pressure of playing against the world’s finest shotmakers right in the first day of the World Amateur Golf Team Championships, fumbling with an 11-over 155 and falling behind by 18 shots behind a hot-starting Japan in the Espirito Santo Trophy at the De Zalze Golf Club here Wednesday.

Junior World champion Dottie Ardina, 12, failed to sustain a two-under par card after three holes with four bogeys and one pick-up the rest of the way as the youngest player in a field of 126 among 42 countries settled for a 76 (39-37) that stood as the best score for the RP squad, which tumbled to joint 31st with Norway after 18 holes of the 72-hole championship.

For a while, Debbie de Villa, 16, hung tough with a gutsy run of pars against two bogeys in the first nine holes for a 38. But the reigning RP Ladies Open champion hobbled on the demanding condition at the backside of the up-and-down layout, adding three more bogeys plus two pick-ups with no birdie to show for a 43 and an 81.

That enabled the 14-year-old Cyna Rodriguez, also a Junior World champion in San Diego, to account for the Philippines’ first day output in this three-to-play, two-to-count format event with a seven-over 79, hoping her birdie on the final hole will augur well for the ICTSI-backed team’s stint in the second round when play shifts to the adjacent Stellenbosch layout. She had six bogeys and one pick up for a 41-38 card.

Japan, tied for fourth in the 2004 edition in Puerto Rico, roared off to a rousing start with a stirring seven-under 137 powered by Rikako Morita’s seven-under 65 as it posted a two-stroke lead over defending champion Sweden, Taiwan and host South Africa.

Rikako fired an eagle-aided round she spiked with six birdies against a bogey as she likewise led Taiwan’s Yu Pei-lin by one stroke in the individual competition. Yu had a 66 at Stellenbosch while teammate Tseng Ya-ni, who defeated Michelle Wie in the final of the 2004 US Women’s Amateur Public Links, had a 73 as Taiwan shot a 139 to tie South Africa and Sweden.

Rikako’s teammate Mika Miyazato matched par 72 while Erina Hara didn’t count with a 73.

Making the most of the biennial international event’s first visit to its continent, South Africa’s Ashleigh Simon, 17, of Johannesburg, shot three-under 69 and Kelli Shean, 18, of Cape Town, posted a 2-under 70.

Rounding out the top 10 were Germany (141), Canada (142), Australia (143), United States of America (144), and Korea, Spain and England (145).

Meanwhile, the RP men’s squad of Marvin Dumandan, Jay Bayron and Mike Bibat left Manila Thursday for the Eisenhower Cup, the men’s side of the championship slated Oct. 26-29. The national team’s campaign in the biennial event is sponsored by ICTSI and supported by the NGAP.