Harmie Constantino crowned herself the first ICTSI Villamor Philippine Ladies Masters champion in almost the same fashion that marked her previous victory at Luisita, overhauling a big deficit and winning by two over Chihiro Ikeda at the Villamor Golf Club on Friday.
Constantino needed just a run of pars in the last five holes and a closing 74 to nail the hotly-disputed championship on a 221 total as two-day leader Daniella Uy floundered at the finish again, making three straight double bogeys from 15 and a closing bogey for an 83.
Uy slid to joint third on 226 with Korean Kim Seoyun who had three closing bogeys for 226.
Ikeda put in the day’s best 73 in an earlier flight to snatch runner-up honors on 223.
“I just stuck to and tried to execute my game plan — hit the fairways and make the putts,” said Constantino, who battled back from four strokes down and tied Uy after 10 holes.
Uy rode on a birdie-bogey swing on 13 to regain a two-shot lead only to throw it away with the meltdown in the last four holes.
Starting the day with a four-shot lead, Uy bogeyed the first three holes and dropped another stroke on 6 for a birdie-less 40.
That allowed Constantino to move within a stroke off Uy at the turn.
“It was not as perfect as I had wanted it to be but I think I played okay. I played as steady as I possibly could,” said Constantino who saved par from 12 feet on the 54th hole.
“It’s actually not the (Villamor) charm,” said Constantino who won the Match Play Invitational at the same course. “Nadadaan lang siguro sa mga prayers ng mga tao dito sa Villamor. They always pray for me, they always want me to win.”
The back-to-back victories should make the former national champion the favorite when action in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour shifts to Valley Golf in Antipolo for this year’s sixth leg on 6-9 June.
The leading scores:
221 — Harmie Constantino 75-72-74
223 — Chihiro Ikeda 72-78-73
226 — Kim Seoyun 74-74-78, Daniella Uy 70-73-83
230 — Sarah Ababa 77-77-76, Marvi Monsalve 72-77-81
235 — Mafy Singson (am) 72-77-81, Gretchen Villacencio 76-76-83
236 — Pamela Mariano
240 — Monica Mandario 80-79-81
241 — Rev Lizbeth Alcantara 80-87-74, Florence Yvon Bisera 78-84-79, Apple Jeen Fudolin 83-79-79
244 — Lovelyn Guioguio 84-79-81, Lucy Landicho 78-78-88.
