Three share WGAP Orchard honors; Villamor hangs on

MANILA, Philippines — Former many-time champion Tagaytay Highlands finally broke through and topped Class A while Eagle Ridge and Aguinaldo took the Classes B and C crowns, respectively, in the fourth leg of the 2018 WGAP Circuit at the Orchard Golf and Country Club’s Player course in Dasmariñas, Cavite recently.

But Villamor held on to the overall lead with a runner-up and third place finish, keeping its slim one-point edge over Aguinaldo halfway through the annual eight-leg circuit organized and conducted by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.

Playing with just four players, Tagaytay still delivered behind Alexi Blanco and Grace Jung, who fired identical 31 Stableford points, and Misha Jang and Maline Flores, who backed them up with 30 and 27 points, respectively.

The 143 output netted Tagaytay a one-point victory in the premier division over Sta. Elena, which drew 44 points from individual winner Rio Co, a pair of 34s from Mela Lee and Lota Nemec and 30 points from Careth Ricamonte for a 142.

Alabang, led by Christine Naidoo’s 37 points, placed third with a 137 followed by Forest Hills (134), Villamor (133), Aguinaldo (132) and Canlubang (129).

Eagle Ridge pooled a 141 from Editha Williams’ 41 points and Jennifer Calibuso, Rosemarie Johnsen and Erlinda Goble’s 36, 34 and 30 points, respectively, to clinch the Class B diadem, three points better than Sta. Elena, which posted another runner-up effort at 138.

Villamor assembled a 134 to snare third place worth one point from Canlubang (133) while Tagaytay wound up fifth at 132 followed by Aguinaldo (130), Forest Hills (129), Alabang (126) and Orchard (109) with Aguinaldo’s Janeth Agripa winning the individual honors with 44 points.

Aguinaldo also dominated Class C with a 147 for a three-point romp over arch rival Villamor, which scored a 144, with Orchard ending up third with a 138 led by Tonette Tee’s winning 41 points in the individual competition.

Robie Ann Ramirez churned out a 40-point effort to pace Aguinaldo with Ermie Madulid adding 37 points and Leni Cabili and Barbie Cruz backing them up with a pair of 35 points.

Alabang settled for fourth with a 136 while Forest Hills turned in a 132 and edged Tagaytay in the countback for fifth. Canlubang placed seventh with a 131 while Eagle Ridge, Sta. Elena and Wack Wack put in 129, 126 and 111 points, respectively.

With its second and third place finishes, Villamor gained three points to match Aguinaldo’s output and preserve a one-point lead with an overall tally of 16 points heading to the fifth leg at Tagaytay Midlands on July 30.

Eagle Ridge moved up to third with nine points while Sta. Elena improved to fourth with eight points followed by Alabang with seven and Tagaytay and Forest Hills with five points apiece.