Uy sizzles in rain, rules ICTSI Del Monte

BUKIDNON, Philippines — Daniella Uy battled back from three strokes down and won for the second straight time with a closing two-under 70, beating Seoyun Kim of Korea and amateurs Mafy Singson and Velinda Castil by two in the ICTSI Del Monte Championship here yesterday.

Uy actually dominated the final 18 holes with a four-under card after 13 holes in third-to-last flight but got too excited trying to rip the field and cap her fiery run in the closing holes, leading to a couple of bogeys in the last four and giving Kim, Singson and Castil some glimmer of hope in a wet finish to the P750,000 championship.

But she dashed it with a routine par on the par-5 18th in driving rain as she signed for a pair of 35s for a 54-hole haul of 219 and took the top P90,000 purse, a couple of months after snapping a long title spell with a one-stroke escape over Yvon Bisera at Forest Hills.

“After going 4-under, I thought of pushing it more but made bogeys on Nos. 15 and 17 instead,” said Uy, who thus matched Harmie Constantino’s back-to-back title wins at Luisita and Villamor.

Castil, 15, who showed up the pros in the first two rounds, proved resolute in her young age majority of the final round, staying in the title hunt despite a two-bogey, one-birdie card after 14 holes until she blew it all with a closing double-bogey in tough conditions.

She wound up with a 75 and settled for joint second with Kim and Singson at 221.

Kim rallied with a bogey-free 70 while teeing off at the back, and Singson, who nailed her second LPGT win at Valley, also last June, carded a 73.

Singson later took the low amateur honors after edging the promising junior golfer in the countback.

Bisera shot a third straight 74 and wound up fifth at 222 while Constantino put in a 73 to tie Pamela Mariano at sixth with 223 after the latter, just one stroke behind Castil after 36 holes, skied to a 76.

Juyoung Yang made a 75 for eighth at 224 while fellow Korean Minyeong Kim placed ninth at 226 after a 76 and Chihiro Ikeda shot a 74 for joint 10th at 227 with Korean amateur Jiwon Lee, who tripped with a 78.