Not even the hottest Filipino golfers could handle the cold conditions in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The three-man Philippine team struggled against the single-degree weather in Wednesday’s opening round of the 44th Queen Sirikit Cup at the Clearwater Golf Club.
The result was just as bleak as only Alethea Gaccion could manage to score a birdie en route to the team’s best score of 14-over-par 86.
She made six pars, seven bogeys and four double bogeys.
“It wasn’t this cold yesterday (during the practice round),” said Sarah Medina, director of the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines which sent the delegation.
“I feel for these young ladies.”
Reese Allyson Ng finished the round with a triple bogey for an 87, the same score by Grace Quintanilla who finished with a double bogey.
All three of them, still playing in the junior circuits, earned spots in the tourney via the WGAP Philippine Ladies’ Open.
But they failed to factor in the weather.
Ng was covered in four layers of clothing and poised to score for the squad. But after four straight pars, she encountered rough patch in the Par-4 last hole.
In total, they made only 20 pars in 54 holes.
Three shared the lead with identical 73s: Chun-Wei Wu of Chinese-Taipei, Aina Fujimoto of Japan and Zara Anand of India.
