Wide-open ladies title chase up at Eagle Ridge
While there are clear-cut favorites on the men’s side of the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Championship, the race for the title in the P750,000 women’s event seems as wide open as it can be with recent winner Samantha Bruce to fulfill international playing commitments next week.
The towering Bruce broke through as a pro last week at Pradera Verde but will be playing in the Thailand LPGA next week, leaving a bunch of foreign and local bets to dispute the title in the 54-hole event that starts on Monday at the Faldo layout in Trece Martires, Cavite.
Men’s favorites
Daniella Uy, who finished in a second-place tie last week, Mafy Singson, Chanelle Avaricio, Sarah Ababa, Mikha Fortuna and Florence Bisera are now listed as the local players to watch, with South Koreans Kim Seoyun and Tiffany Lee the most dangerous foreign bets.
Angelo Que will be shooting for a second straight men’s title, with Antonio Lascuña, last year’s Order of Merit winner, declaring himself near 100-percent shape as he tries to put behind memories of three lackluster stints for the year.
Lascuña battled severe gout on his left elbow that came about a few days before the Philippine Open at Manila Southwoods in January. He also did not contend in The Country Club Invitational the following week in Laguna where he was the defending champion, before finishing solo 13th at Pradera after breaking par just once in four rounds.
“It was really a struggle,” Lascuña had told the Inquirer in Filipino earlier this week as he started preparing for the Eagle Ridge stop. “I am swinging it a lot better now and the pain is almost gone.”
