A SHOWDOWN of national champions is in the offing as
defending champion Yupaporn Kawinpakorn of Thailand, Lidya Ivana Jaya of
Indonesia and local bets Regine de Guzman and Anya Tanpinco head a crack field
in the 46th Philippine Ladies Open on Jan. 16-18 at the Legends course of the
Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club in Carmona, Cavite.
Jaya, one of the region’s rising stars, will try to annex a
fourth national championship after ruling the Ladies Opens of Hong Kong,
Indonesia and Malaysia. She tied for second with Ainil Johani Abu Bakar of
Malaysia behind Yupaporn in last year’s tourney played at The Country Club.
De Guzman will take a shot at another Open plum almost a year
following her stunning win in the Thailand Open that pricked the pride of
Yupaporn and the other well-honed Thai aces. Tanpinco won the Philippine Ladies
Open crown in Iloilo three months ago.
Two former RP Open winners–Carmelette Villaroman and Debbie
de Villla –are also among the 50 single-digit handicap players from eight
countries seeing action in the 54-hole event backed by Pagcor, Philippine Sports
Commission and Sports Network, Inc.
"It will be a duel of the best talents in the Asian region,"
said Remy Romero-Salas, president of the organizing Women’s Golf Association of
the Philippines.
The Legends course of Southwoods has been spruced as
excitement grows over the gathering of the finest young players, most of them
still in their teens.
According to Claudette Santiago of the tournament committee,
the players are in for a big test at Southwoods and will have to deal with its
lightning-fast greens, aside from the blustery winds that have been raking the
course the past few weeks.
The locals are bent on preventing another foreign domination, with
multi-titled Cyna Rodriguez, Chihiro Ikeda, Lovelyn Guioguio and Beverly Mendoza
all raring to go. Also among the players to watch are Fil-American Cristina
Corpus and Kathleen Uy, the Cebuana who is taking a break from her studies at
the University of San Francisco.
