CHIHIRO Ikeda will be up against a crack
local field and a small contingent of foreign players when she
defends her Philippine Ladies Open amateur golf championship
starting on Jan. 14 at the Legends Course of the Manila
Southwoods Golf and Country Club in Carmona, Cavite.
Ikeda rallied from three strokes to beat
Lydia Ivana Jaya of Indonesia by three shots in last year
event, and the 17-year-old Fil-Japanese ace is all set for a
title repeat in the 54-hole tourney organized by the Women’s
Golf Association of the Philippines.
Jaya will not be around along with other
fancied Thai bets but the depth of the competing field remains
as talent-laden as ever, ensuring another spirited chase for
the championship in the event sponsored by the Philippine
Sports Commission, San Miguel Corp. and Nike.
Anya Tanpinco, the reigning back-to-back
Philippine Amateur champion, is tipped to foil Ikeda’s bid for
a second straight title along with the duo’s teammates in the
ICTSI golf stable, including Sarah Ababa and Louise Manalo.
Diane Luke of Malaysia heads the foreign
challenge that includes Indonesia’s Ines Putri Chandra, Dita
Widyanatri and Victory Chandra Tjiong, Lilibeth De Rossi and
Jenny Park of the US, Koreans JI Hyun Lee, Ji Yeon Li, So Won
Lee and Jeong Hwa Lee.
Clubs all over the country will field their
best bets in the Open, which will also feature the Class A and
Class B events after the classification on the second day.
Playing are entries from Sta. Elena, Eagle Ridge, Soutwoods,
Valley Golf, Orchard, Riviera, Tagaytay Highlands, Alta Vista,
Forest Hills, Pueblo de Oro, Cangolf, Del Monte, Navy and
Southwoods.
Other players to watch in the centerpiece
championship division are Southwoods’ Sunshine Baraquiel,
Cangolf’s Lucy Landicho, Riviera’s Maria Andrea Legaspi, Eva
Minoza and Kristine Leonin of Del Monte, Beverly Mendoza of
Navy, and Crystal and Princess Superal of Orchard.
Still, focus will be on Ikeda, winner of
five titles last year, including the other local major event,
the DHL Open. She also won the Sabah Amateur, the Thailand
Junior Open and the Singapore Junior Championship.
"Though the field looks very explosive at
this point, we are still expecting some more confirmations
this week since we’re coming from a long holiday," said WGAP
president Rio Co.
