Rianne Malixi sizzled with an eagle-aided 69 but fell behind by four as Nikki Oh proved hotter with a 65 she spiked with a rare double-eagle feat at the start of the AJGA Thunderbird Junior All-Star at the Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, Arizona last Friday.
The rising Filipina star hit two solid shots at the 427-yard, par-5 opening hole and made an eagle then rebounded from a bogey mishap on the third with birdies on Nos. 7, 10 and 15. But the 15-year-old ICTSI-backed ace missed turning in a four-under card with a bogey on the 16th, staying at solo second but dropping a stroke farther back in the 54-hole tournament serving as part of the American Junior Golf Association circuit.
The power-hitting Oh bettered Malixi’s eagle feat with a rare double-eagle and added an eagle on the 421-yard No. 10, also a par-5, for good measure, her 32-33 card putting her four strokes clear of Malixi, who is trying to extend her run of victories back home in one of the premier junior circuits in the US.
Malixi won her last three tournaments, including two on the local pro circuit and the SEA Games qualifier.
But she will have a lot of catching up to do as Oh looked poised to dominating the tournament, bouncing back from a bogey on the second hole with birdies on Nos. 7 and 9. Flashing her awesome long game, the Californian gained two strokes on the 10th then hit two more birdies against a bogey in the last four holes to stay in command.
Anna Fang, also from California, birdied two of the last four holes to card a 70 and tie Brynn Kort of Nevada at third in the tournament which drew some of the top and rising young players from all over.
Malixi, who scored an AJGA breakthrough in Se Ri Pak Desert Junior last year, is on a three-leg AJGA campaign as part of her efforts to boost her world ranking and at the same time toughen up for next month’s SEA Games where she will help spearhead the country’s title-retention drive with Lois Kaye Go and Mafy Singson in Hanoi, Vietnam.
She will next vie in the Ping Heather Farr Classic on April 14-17 at the Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, both in Arizona and in the Rome Junior Classic on April 28-May 1 at the Coosa Country Club in Rome, Georgia.