Ardina wavers, settles for fourth

MANILA, Philippines - Dottie Ardina charged back with three birdies in a 13-hole stretch but bogeyed two of the last four holes for  a 71, settling for a share of fourth in the Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open won by Thai Patcharachuta Kongkapan at the Palm Hill Golf and Country Club in Jakarta Saturday.

After back-to-back 72s that put her four shots behind fellow amateur Kelly Tan of Malaysia, Ardina hit a birdie on No. 2 and added two more on a pair of par-3s (Nos. 8 and 12) only to flounder at the finish, including a mishap on the par-5 15th and a third straight bogey on the closing hole.

The top ICTSI-backed bet totaled 215 at the 54-hole $200,000 championship which Kongkapan ruled in runaway fashion with a four-under 68, highlighted by four birdies in the first seven holes. She had a 209 aggregate and beat Taiwanese Hsieh Yu-ling, who also had a 68, by three.

Tan sputtered with a 74 and ended up third at 214 while Kusuma Meechai of Thailand and Chen Connie of South Africa shot 69 and 72, respectively, and tied Ardina, who ruled the recent Taiwan Amateur and Cangolf Am, at fourth.

Cyna Rodriguez, the reigning Hong Kong Amateur Open champion, finally found her rhythm and fired a 70 to finish joint 27th at 224 while ICTSI teammate and Santi Cup individual winner Jayvie Agojo wound up way down at 46th with a 229 after a 76.