Superal finishes joint 2nd in Porter Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Princess Superal rallied with two late birdies to salvage a one-under 70 and finish tied for second with erstwhile leader Jennifer Ha in the second Women’s Porter Cup won by Brooks Henderson in come-from-behind fashion at the Niagara Falls and Country Club in Lewiston, New York Friday.

Superal birdied No. 7 then came through with back-to-back birdies from No. 16 to negate her bogeys on Nos. 1 and 9 for that 70, erasing a four-stroke deficit to Ha, who sputtered with a three-over 74 for identical 208s.

But Henderson, the world No. 3, capped her stirring comeback from an opening 75 with a sizzling nine-under 62 three flights ahead and snatched the crown at 205.

Still, it was an impressive finish for Superal, who held her ground against the host country’s leading amateurs in the invitational tournament, a high ranking world event which also served as the start of Team ICTSI’s overseas campaign this summer.

Pauline del Rosario matched par 71 and wound up joint 10th at 218.

“It was a good finish for Princess and an impressive start for Team ICTSI’s overseas campaign,” said Team ICTSI coach Nestor Mendoza.

Superal, coming off a win in the Jakarta Juniors Open last week, sees action next in the Women’s Western Tournament firing off June 23 in Pennsylvania while Del Rosario, last year’s Junior World champion (13-14), will play as an invitee at the Yani Tseng tournament in California on July 1.