Chabon saves day for Pinays as Superal falls

MANILA, Philippines - Princess Superal took charge early in the final round but fumbled with a costly double-bogey mishap on No. 13 and lost to Malaysian Kelly Tan by one in Division I while Sofia Chabon dominated Division 2 in the Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open in Malaysia Thursday.

One down at the start of the final round, Superal surged past the local ace on No. 7 with two birdies and held sway up to the No. 12 at the par-71 Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club layout. But the top ICTSI bet stumbled with a double-bogey on the next with poor approach shots, finishing with a 71 and a 209.

Tan also scrambled to salvage a 71 to snatch the crown at 208.

Cyna Rodriguez rallied with a late run of birdies but ran out of holes and settled for a three-under 68, finishing tied with teammate Superal at 209.

Chabon, one of the new members of Team ICTSI, matched par 71 for a 225, beating Malaysian Nur Shahzan, who had a 236 after 75, by 11 in Division 2 play to record her first international victory.

Thai Suthavee Chanachai also made a 71 and wound up fourth at 215 in a tie with Indonesian Gavrila Arya who made a 70, while Pauline del Rosario, the other ICTSI team bet, skied to a 78 and ended up 11th with a 221 in Division I.

Superal, Rodriguez and Del Rosario, meanwhile, combined for a 279 to edge Malaysia by two and claim the team championship in the 54-hole event.

The hosts, who included Tan, Michelle Koh and Iman Nordin, pooled a 281 while Thailand, composed of Sherman Santiwiwathanapong, Ornicha Konsunthea and Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras, wound up third with a 289.