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NEWLY
crowned Philippine Open champion Angelo Que heads the
Asian challenge in the Volvo China Open slated from
April 17 to 20 at the Beijing CBD International Golf
Club in
Beijing,
China.
Before
winning the RP Open, where he earned $47,500 (or about
P1.9 million), Que was on fire and qualified for a slot
in the prestigious British Open.
“I’ll
have to try and win as many tournaments as I can,” Que
told the BusinessMirror Sunday.
Frankie
Miñoza, Juvic Pagunsan, Artemio Murakami, Antonio
Lascuna and Gerald Rosales are also seeing action in
Beijing.
On the reserve list are Mars Pucay, Benjie Magada, Elmer
Salvador, Jerome Delariarte, Marloan Dizon and Cookie
La’O.
“Maybe,
I’ll win one this time. I am hoping for my breakthrough
victory,” said Lascuna, who briefly tied Que for the RP
Open lead before settling for a joint seventh place at
the East course of Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.
The
Filipino Asian Tour veterans will be up against
defending champion Markus Brier of Austria. He won last
year’s tournament with a 10-under 274, five shots clear
of South Africa’s Andrew McLardy, Australia’s Scott Hend
and Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.
China’s
Liang Wen-chong, the 2007 Asian Tour Order of Merit
winner, will be a sentimental favorite and a contender
as he plays in front of his countrymen. Zhang Lian-wei,
seeking to end a five-year title drought in the Asian
Tour, is also seeing action for the host country.
Expected
to crowd the favorites are current Order of Merit leader
Mark Brown of New Zealand, SSP Chowrasia of India and
Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand.
RP
amateurs in IMG tourney
FILIPINA
amateurs Dottie Ardina, Cyna Rodriguez and Mia Piccio
were invited to play in the International Management
Group’s IMGA/DLGA Championships set on April 26 and 27
at the IMG Academies Golf and Country Club in Florida,
USA.
The
14-year-old Ardina, the only Filipino amateur who has so
far played in the Ladies European Tour, won the
Plantation Inn Open last February and the Eagle Creek
Open in November 2007. She placed second in the The
Leadbetter@IMG and third in the ASU Open.
Rodriguez, a 16-year-old junior scholar at the Pendleton
School in Florida, registered her breakthrough win at
Mission Inn Hills two weeks ago. Last year she was
second in the TPC Tampa Bay Open and tied for third at
the World Woods Rolling Oaks Open.
Piccio,
16, got her first victory via the World Woods Rolling
Oaks Open, was second at the Mission Inn Open and third
at the La Costa Classic and Doral Silver Classic.
Also
seeing action in the by-invitation only tournament are
top seeded Americans Victoria Bauman, Tiffany Cheung,
Melissa Edmonson, Kristen Warhurst, Vanessa Koechli,
Isabelle Lendl, Marika Lendl, Marika Liu, Christina
Miller, Megan Pak and Shannon Pak.
Ikeda
shoots 76 in Round One
Chihiro
Ikeda of the
Philippines
struggled with her short game and only managed two-over
76 to be seven shots behind leader Stephanie Na of
Australia at the start of the Srixon Australian Women’s
Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Gleneagle Golf Club
in Adelaide, South Australia.
“It was
my first time to play the Gleneagle. Like most of the
girls, I have had my share of difficulties at the
challenging par-74 course, too. I promise to do better
tomorrow,” said Ikeda, 16, in an overseas call to the
BusinessMirror.
While
Ikeda worked hard for every stroke, Na made the most of
her local course knowledge and turned in a
five-under-par 69 to seize the lead over fellow Aussies
Rebecca Flood and Kristie Smith, who each churned in
72s. |
