Filipina aces stay in hunt in Arizona Golf Classic

MANILA, Philippines – Clariss Guce sizzled with a two-eagle feat, propelling her to a remarkable six-under 65 and moving within three strokes off American Dana Fall midway through the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona Friday (Saturday Manila time).

Harnessing her raw power, Guce showcased her prowess, marking a pivotal moment in her career after enduring a series of challenging seasons on the Epson Tour. She eagled two of the par-71 TPC Scottsdale’s Champions course’s long holes and shot five birdies to negate her three-bogey mishap, resulting in a 31-34 card.

Counting her opening 67, Guce assembled a 10-under 132 as she firmly secured her position in third place, trailing behind Fall, who shot a 66 for a 129, two strokes ahead of Chinese Siyun Liu, who holed out with an eagle for a 63 and a 131.

Meanwhile, Pauline del Rosario also bolstered her bid with a 67 for joint fourth with five others at 133, while ICTSI teammate Dottie Ardina carded a second straight 68 for a share of 14th at 136, seven strokes off Fall in the $400,000 championship.

While the three Filipinas strongly made it to the weekend play of the 72-hole event, Abby Arevalo, whose campaign is also supported by the world’s leading port operator, faltered, limping with a 77 after an impressive 69 for a 146, missing the cut by four.

Guce actually grappled with her driver, hitting just five fairways but she pulled off a number of superb recovery shots. Despite missing six greens, she registered 25 putts to put herself in title contention.

She kicked off her second round bid with an eagle on the first hole then gunned down birdies on Nos. 5, 6 and 8. A bogey on No. 10 momentarily stalled her charge but she re-ignited her charge with a stirring sequence of birdie-birdie-eagle from No. 11, briefly threatening the lead with a running 12-under output.

However, bogeys in the next two holes dropped her to third.

Del Rosario extended her streak of consecutive cuts made to six tournaments. Her bogey-less opening round of 66 set the tone for another impressive round capped off by a dazzling display of birdies in the second round.

She birdied Nos. 1 and 3 then came out of a two-birdie, two-bogey stint from No. 7 with back-to-back birdies from No. 17, spiking her round with a sterling 24-putt showing.

Buoyed by a recent joint runner-up finish in Casino Del Sol Golf Classic, Ardina also carded a bogey-less 68 in the first round then put on a stellar display of accuracy both off the tee and onto the greens to shoot four birdies against a bogey.