Malixi misses match play with 2nd 79

MANILA, Philippines – Rianne Malixi struggled to recover from a challenging start, carding a second straight seven-over 79 at the challenging Portmarnock Golf Club and missing the match play phase of The Women’s Amateur Championship in Dublin, Ireland Tuesday.

Despite a difficult quintuple bogey on No. 5 in the first round, Malixi managed to birdie the par-4 hole. However, a shaky back nine resulting in a 42 dashed her hopes of advancing. Finishing with a total score of 158, the 17-year-old Filipina campaigner missed her target by one stroke.

Singapore’s Aloysa Atienza, whose parents are Filipinos, also struggled with scores of 82 and 75 for a 157 total. But she emerged victorious in a six-player playoff, securing the 64th and final spot in the knockout phase starting Wednesday.

But Atienze faces a tough challenge against low medalist and World No. 1 Lottie Woad, who dominated the 36-hole stroke play eliminations with rounds of 69 and 66 for a total of 135, five strokes ahead of Meja Ortengren who finished with a 140 after a 69.

Malixi’s setback follows a series of impressive performances in professional tournaments for Malixi, including a fifth-place finish at the Korea Women’s Open. She aims to bounce back stronger as she prepares for the US Girls’ Junior next month.

Malixi came close to winning the title in last year’s edition of the prestigious event, narrowly losing by one hole to Kiara Romero in Arizona.