Ardina-Ikeda duel looms in the south

MANILA, Philippines –  Dottie Ardina tries to get back at Chihiro Ikeda and make it two-in-a-row over her ICTSI teammate in the Southern Ladies golf tournament which gets under way Feb. 3 at the Bacolod Golf and Country Club in Bacolod.

Ardina birdied the last hole to edge Ikeda by one point under the Molave scoring system in last year’s finale at the Iloilo Golf and Country Club. But Ikeda put one over Ardina in last week’s Philippine Ladies Amateur Open, winning by six strokes at The Country Club in Laguna.

That makes their upcoming duel in Bacolod worth watching although a slew of players will go all-out to spoil their bid in the three-day tournament organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils. They include former Phl Ladies Open champion Jayvie Agojo, Lovelynn Guioguio, Andie Unson, Sarah Ababa and Sunshine Baraquiel.

Also in the fold are the campaigners from Alabang, Tagaytay Highlands, Orchard, Aguinaldo, Iloilo, Bacolod, Valley, Pueblo de Oro, Villamor and Riviera.

The Philippine Sports Commission, Kaiser International, Directories Phils. Corp (DPC) Yellow Pages, Hans Brumann Jeweler, WWWExpress, DHL Express and Business Inn, the official hotel, are the chief backers of the 48th staging of the annual event.

Registration is ongoing with deadline set on Jan. 31 according to NGAP. Fee is pegged at P2,500. For details, contact NGAP at (02) 5179778, fax (02) 706-5926, 0917-560-7074 (Susan Facundo) or email at [email protected] or visit NGAP website at www.ngaponline.net.

Listup is also open at the Bacolod Golf and Country Club at (034) 4730179 or fax (034) 4461794 or contact Stella at 0915-2079149 or 0918-9246771 or email [email protected].

Events on tap are the individual, team competition and seniors division with the LAM-Am and practice round set on Feb. 2.

The 36-hole seniors competition and the team event, a four-to-play, three-to-count format, will be played in the first two days using the Stableford scoring system (net of handicap).

Aside from the centerpiece Championship Flight, other titles to be disputed are Classes A, B, C and D. The seniors division will be for players 55 years old and above.