DEFENDING champion Manila Southwoods Masters took a slim two-point lead over Cebu Country Club (CCC) on Friday in the 10th Philippine Airlines Ladies Interclub golf team championships at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club (NOGCC) in Bacolod City.
The Masters collected 278 points from its star-studded lineup, but will need another strong finish on Saturday to win its fifth straight championship.
Sofia Chabon, 14, and Missy Legaspi, 13, led the defending champions with 52 points each while Abby Arevalo added 49. The other scorers were Loralie Roberto 48, Kim Yong Mi 39 and Annika Guangko 38.
“The course condition was hard today,” said captain Marie Claire Ong (30) who, together with Claudine Garcia (34), failed to count.
CCC, which lost by a single point to Southwoods last year in Cebu City, drew a superb 54 points from Lois Kaye Go and 50 from Crystal Faith Neri to stay within two shots off the pace.
The 16-year-old Go, who started in the back-nine, made back-to-back bogeys from the 15th hole, but played the next 11 holes at two-under par.
“I played pretty solid today,” the 16-year-old Go said.
Neri, a new addition to CCC, had two birdies against four bogeys and a double bogey.
“We’re very happy to hold Southwoods at bay. Frankly, we did not expect to stay in contention,” said CCC skipper Mary Kim Hong, who contributed 48 points.
The other CCC scorers were Junia Gabasa 45, Riko Nagai 42 and Ryoko Nagai 35. Failing to count were Menchit Martinez (28) and Josephine Siguan (27).
Lady Eagles Australia took the lead in the friendship division with 227 points, 27 points ahead of Davao Golf. Third spot was Apo Golf with 196.