Cyna shines Down Under, cops Vesta Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Cyna Rodriguez flashed superb putting form to fire a four-under 68 and beat fancied Grace Lennon by four in the South Australia Women’s State Amateurs at the Flagstaff Hill Golf Course in Australia yesterday.

Rodriguez bucked a bogey start and day-long struggle on the mound with good recoveries and exceptional putting skills that netted her five birdies to rule the 36-hole stroke play qualifier for the match play phase.

The top ICTSI-The Country Club bet, who carded a 71 in the first round, finished with a 139, four shots ahead of Lennon, as she also took the Vesta Cup awarded to winner of the 36-hole elims.

“I putted well today. The long hours of (putting) drills and getting used to the new stroke paid off,” said Rodriguez, the former Philippine Ladies Open champion who made 23 putts in clinching the top honors. “It’s really a good feeling to have scored well, having rated my driving to be slightly below average.”

The victory came on the heels of Rodriguez’s early exit in last week’s Western Australia Women’s State Amateur in Fremantle, Western Australia where she bowed out in the quarters with teammate Jayvie Agojo settling for a semis finish.

But the reigning Hong Kong Amateur Ladies Open champion bounced back strong this week to head to the match play phase as top seed in the Women’s Amateur Cup.

“Actually, I have been putting well last week but this week, it has worked really well for me,” said Rodriguez, who made birdies inside 7 seven, highlighting her exploits with a 35-footer on No. 12.

Agojo shot 75 and 74 and finished third behind Lennon, who had a 73-143, at 149, to clinch the No. 3 spot.