Ardina cops crown with 4-shot romp

MANILA, Philippines - Dottie Ardina put on a fiery windup to dominate the field, romping off with a four-stroke victory with a stirring eagle-spiked four-under 68 in the Thailand Singha-Sat LPGA Championship in Thailand late Thursday.

Ardina, who started the final round just a shot ahead of Thai Junthima Gulyanamitta, eagled the par-5 No. 14 then holed out with a birdie on the 18th to cap her brilliant 35-33 finish at the Rancho Charnvee Resort and Country Club.

Counting her earlier 69 and 67, the ace Filipina shotmaker wound up with a 204 aggregate in the tournament and beat local bet Titiya Plucksataporn by four to pocket the top B71,900 (P99,100) purse.

Plucksataporn birdied three of the last four holes to match Ardina’s 68 and snatch runner-up honors at 208 while Gulyanamitta settled for a 72 and dropped to joint third with Nontaya Srisawang, shooting at 70, at 209.

Princess Superal and ICTSI teammate Pauline del Rosario both matched par 72s and finished tied for ninth at 214 while sharing the low amateur honors in the 54-hole tournament, one of the top pro events in Thailand.

Bracing for a down-to-the-wire finish, Ardina birdied No. 2 to go two-up but dropped a shot on the next and reeled back as Gulyanamitta came through with back-to-back birdies from No. 4 to wrest control. But the Thai bet floundered and bogeyed Nos. 7 and 9 while Ardina closed out her frontside stint with a birdie to seize a two-stroke lead again.

With Gulyanamitta birdying No. 13 to close in again, Ardina chipped in from 37 yards on No. 14 for the eagle then hit a birdie on the 18th to cap her blazing finish.

“She just kept her composure despite yielding the lead on a bad drive in the early going. She’s ready for big-time golf,” said Team ICTSI coach Bong Lopez of his prized ward set to vie on the Symetra Tour in the US and in other legs on the LPGA circuit.