HARMIE Constantino fought back from five strokes down with a brilliant frontside 33 then held sway to finish with a 69 and win the ICTSI Palos Verdes Championship by three as her rivals faltered one after the other in a tense battle of skill and character on Thursday in Davao.
The victory was Constantino’s seventh as a professional.
“I’d say one of the sweetest but not the top,” said Constantino, who moved to the top on the front nine and secured victory with nine pars for a 54-hole total of 217.
In contrast, two-day leader Lois Kaye Go struggled to recover from a shaky start, missing par chances. She ended up with a 78 for joint fourth at 221 with Florence Bisera and Laurea Duque, who carded 72 and 74, respectively.
Apo Golf Classic winner Sarah Ababa also came up with a final-day run, starting the day five strokes back and finishing in joint second place at 220 with a closing 72.
“I missed a couple of short putts for pars,” rued Ababa. “They were so close but failed to sink them.”
Chihiro Ikeda shared second spot after a 75.
Constantino bagged the P90,000 prize from the P750,000 prize fund in the second leg of the 10-stage LPGT circuit.
“I stayed patient, kept my cool out there throughout the day,” said Constantino.
Despite holding a lead in the stretch, Constantino remained uncertain of her chances given the competitiveness of the field and the challenges posed by the course. Her victory, although somewhat anticlimactic, was sealed on the last hole with a par after seeking relief for an embedded ball.
Throughout the day, Constantino never felt like the victory was assured, saying: “Not until I got to the last hole and putt my last one.”
“I hope this win will encourage kids to play, especially girls. There are plenty of opportunities for them to excel in golf,” said Constantino.
Go, meanwhile, remained optimistic about bouncing back from the setback.
“Obviously, nothing went well,” she said. “My first few bogeys, I hit good chips but made some bad judgments.”
“It just didn’t turn out the way I thought it would,” said Go, who made four bogeys against two birdies at the front and stumbled with three more bogeys and a double bogey on No. 16, where she drove out-of-bounds, against a birdie on No. 15 for a 38-40.
Image credits: BERNARD TESTA