Superal goes subpar anew, keeps 4-pt lead

MANILA, Philippines - Princess Superal held sway with a three-under 69 worth 57 points and kept her four-point lead intact over The Country Club teammate Yuka Saso to move 18 holes away from scoring a three-peat in the Southern Ladies Open at the Apo Golf and Country Club in Davao yesterday.

Superal, who stamped her class early with a four-under 68 Wednesday, slowed down a bit with a four-birdie, one-bogey stint yesterday to match Saso’s three-under card but still poised herself for another championship in the annual event presented by the MVP Sports Foundation.

“I still hope to play a steady round tomorrow (today). Four points is a good lead, but nothing is safe in a course like this,” said Superal, coming off a record victory in the US Girls Junior Championship in Arizona last month.

She pooled a 36-hole aggregate of 115 points with Saso still in second at 111 after a 69 and Sofia Chabon, another TCC mainstay under coach Bong Lopez, in third at 100 after a 51.

The 12-year-old Saso, who caddied for Superal in the closing holes and in the playoff in the US Girls where the top ICTSI-backed bet nipped Mexico’s Marijosse Navarro in the sudden death, tried to close in on Superal but flubbed a couple of birdie putts and remained four points behind.

Sam Martirez bounced back from an opening 45 with a level 54 for 99 points while Abegail Arevalo floundered with a 44 to drop to fifth with 95 points.

Meanwhile, Gendel dela Cernal widened her lead to 10 points over Irene Shinmura after shooting 49 points for an aggregate of 99 in Class A play of the event forming part of the PLDT Group Amateur Tour and backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and Casino Filipino-Davao.