SINGAPORE – Rianne Malixi marked her big day with a scorching five-under 67 as she wheeled back into contention halfway through Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Championship at the Singapore Island County Club here Friday.
But a slew of others also flourished in a day of torrid scoring under light breeze and downpour as they fueled their respective title drives in the region’s premier championship, which stakes berths in three Major championships on the LPGA Tour and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur later this month.
Sunday’s winner will also earn invites to the Hana Financial Group Championship and the Women’s Australian Open.
Hong Kong’s Sophie Han shot a 68 spiked by a stirring three-birdie windup at the back for a share of the lead at 136 with Thai Eila Galitsky, who shot a solid 67 that put her on track of her bid to re-claim the crown won by compatriot and former world No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul in the event’s inaugurals in 2018 at Sentosa.
Minsol Kim likewise proved just as tough and steady in a switch in tee-times, coming home at dusk with a 69 to stay on top, this time with Han and Galitsky on eight-under total, as she kept the Koreans' hope to sweep the two premier championships here following Jin Young Ko's victory in last week's storm-hit Women's World Championship at Sentosa.
With a three-under 141 aggregate, the ICTSI-backed shotmaker moved from tied 28th to solo ninth, still five strokes off the pace but within striking distance at the rolling layout near the Nature Reserve Catchment littered with Macaque monkeys.
“I started great and putting was better as well,” said Malixi, while stressing her consistency helped key her big bounce-back on her 16th birthday.
But she ruled out the connection of her special day to her near-impeccable round, saying: “No, I was more patient and committed and my iron play was great.”
She also flashed consistency off the mound all the way to the undulating greens and displayed resoluteness when things seemed to go the other way.
“I did positive self-talk and thought about taking shot by shot,” said Malixi when asked how did she psyche herself up after holing out with her lone black mark on the ninth.
Lois Kaye Go, the best Filipina performer with a 72 in the first round, sputtered with a 73 marred by late bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8. But the Cebuana ace safely made the Top 50 and ties cut at 150 with a 145 aggregate.
Mafy Singson and Junia Gabasa, however, missed the weekend play with the former blowing a one-under card with three straight bogeys to close out her 74 card for a 152 and the latter posting a 153 after a 74.
Malixi actually picked up from she left off, burying a six-foot uphiller on No. 2 after saving an otherwise poor first round with two frontside birdies. She missed a straightaway eight-footer on the third, flubbed a five-footer on the next and two-putted for par on the par-3 fifth.
But those missed chances hardly dampened her spirits as the two-time AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) leg winner last year drained a five-footer on No. 6, knocked down another birdie from a longer distance on the next and failed making it three-in-row from 12 feet on No. 8.
She failed to get up-and-down from 12 feet on No. 9 but kept on pressing her bid, picking up strokes on Nos. 10 and 12 inside five feet. After settling for four pars, she went to work again with a tough uphill birdie putt on the 17th but missed capping it with another as her putt got past cup in heavy downpour.
But it was Jiyoo Lim, also from Korea, who produced the day’s best — a bogey-free 64 that matched the lowest round in WAAP’s five-year history as she threatened at 138 in a tie with Chinese Zixin Ni, who carded a 70, while Thai Navaporn Soontreeyapas slowed down with a 71 after a 68 but still stayed in the mix with a 139 for joint sixth with Tong An, also from China, who churned out a five-under 67 highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 No. 4.
New Zealand’s Fiona Xu also put in a 69 for solo eighth at 140.
While she did hope to rebound from a disastrous 74 Thursday, Malixi didn’t expect to go low in a fashion so distinct than that of the first round, rattling off three birdies in the first seven holes at the front then bouncing back from a wet bogey on the ninth with three more birdies at the back for a 34-33.