|
JENNIFER
Rosales finished tied for 13th and won $19,409 (about
P873,000) in the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic on
Sunday, but may have done something much better.
Rosales
is poised to become the third Filipina to qualify for
the Women’s British Open later this month, pending
confirmation from the Ladies Professional Golf
Association (LPGA) Tour of her performance through two
rounds in the tournament at Sylvania, Ohio.
 One
of the conditions set at the Jamie Farr, which served as
the US-based qualifier for the British Open, is that the
top five LPGA Tour members who are not yet qualified
will play in the season’s fourth major championship
after the first 36 holes.
Based on
the two-day scores and standings at the Jamie Farr,
Rosales would be the third to qualify because everybody
in the event’s top 10 at that point was already
prequalified for the Open.
American
Stacey Lewis was the top prospect followed by Guilia
Sergas, Rosales—who opened with rounds of 70 and 67—and
Heather Daly-Donofrio.
“I still
have to check this one out with the LPGA officials. If,
indeed this is true, I would be so happy because all my
efforts are paying off now,” said Rosales in an overseas
call to the BusinessMirror.
Organizers of the Jamie Farr will submit to the Women’s
British Open the names of the five players who will get
the exemption anytime this week.
The
30-year-old, who has won twice on the LPGA Tour, would
join US-based Dorothy Delasin and Frances Noelle Bondad,
a former RP national team member now based in Australia,
in the Women’s British Open slated from July 31 to
August 3 in Berkshire, England.
In
January Rosales and Delasin teamed up to win the Women’s
World Cup of golf, the first for the Philippines.
“It
would be great if I could be with Dorothy and Frances.
Imagine, there will not only be one, but three Pinays
competing at the Sunningdale Golf Club,” Rosales added.
The
former US college champion churned out a one-over-par 72
on Sunday for a 72-hole total of 278, good for 13th, her
best finish in 15 LPGA events this year. She was tied
with American Karen Stupples, Scot Janice Moodie and
Korean Ji Young Oh.
Along
with her third-round 69, Rosales finished 10 strokes
behind winner Paula Creamer.
Doing
just enough
PAULA
CREAMER shot a two-over 73 and did just enough to make a
big lead stand from the start in winning by two strokes.
Creamer,
who captured her seventh career win and her third this
season, had worse scores every day after breaking the
tournament record with an 11-under 60 in the first
round. She followed that with a 65 and a 70 to finish at
16-under 268, two shots better than Nicole Castrale, who
closed fast with a 64.
“After
you shoot 60, I swear, it’s the hardest thing. Anything
over that and you feel like you’re shooting 85,” she
said, laughing. “Everybody’s saying, congratulations,
congratulations. But you’ve still got three days left.”
The
21-year-old American saw her lead drop to a shot when
rookie Feng Shanshan—the first exempt player from China
to play on the US LPGA Tour—pushed her with five birdies
through the first 11 holes. |
