GEN. TRIAS, Cavite – Despite stumbling at the finish, Chihiro Ikeda knew she had the top purse in the bag.
With an amateur as playoff rival, Ikeda has all the reasons to be confident even after bogeying two of the last three holes in regulation and enabling Lee Ji Hyeon to gain a crack at the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Ladies Invitational championship.

What concerned her most was her energy for the extended duel.
“I was so tired. While Lee was able to take a break in a flight ahead, I had to proceed to the playoff right after my round,” said Ikeda.

And it didn’t take just one or two extra holes to finish off the Korean upstart.
But in the end, it was Lee who succumbed to playoff pressure, flubbing a par-putt from five feet on the third sudden death hole and enabling Ikeda to clinch the win with a routine par on their third trip on the par-4 18th of the Aoki layout.

“It’s nice to win again although I really have to toughen up in the playoff after blowing a huge lead in regulation. I was tired but coach Bong (Lopez) told me to just stay focused and keep believing in myself,” said Ikeda.

The victory was worth another P150,000 for Ikeda and it came three months after she scored a similar sudden victory over Thai Wannasiri Sirisampant at Forest Hills last November.
Lee settled for the low amateur honors.

Ikeda blew a two-shot lead with bogeys on Nos. 16 and 18 for a 71 in blustery condition, enabling Lee, who sizzled in a flight ahead with a 66, to force a playoff at seven-under 209 at the close of the 54-hole, P750,000 tournament sponsored by ICTSI.

Erstwhile co-leader Hwang Min-jeong, who charged back with late three birdies in a four-hole stretch from No. 14, missed joining the sudden death with a bogey on the last hole. She wound up third at 210.

Ikeda and Lee parred their first two duels, both on the par-4 18th, but the former proved steadier in the end, coming through with a par the third time out in the playoff and finally claiming the victory after Lee wilted another pressure and flubbed her bid from close range.

Princess Superal, who figured in a three-way lead with Ikeda and Hwang after 54 holes, failed to recover from early bunker woes, finishing with a 73 for fourth at 211 worth P95,000 while Thai Yoktuan Pavarisa matched par 72 for fifth at 215. She received P60,000.

Sirisampant, a former winner in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., rallied with a tournament-best 68 to tie fellow Thai Numa Gulyanamitta, who carded a 72, at 219.

Cyna Rodriguez shot a 72 for seventh at 220, Dottie Ardina wavered with a 77 for joint eighth with Thai Tirapan Yoopan, who had a 73, at 221, while Chonlada Chayanun, who had a couple of runner-up finishes in the circuit, shot a 72 for 10th at 222.

With Superal dropping off the lead with a 38, Ikeda and Hwang, who matched opening 35s, found a new rival in Lee, who moved into joint lead with a solid 30 highlighted by a pitch-in eagle on the par-4 ninth.

But Ikeda broke way with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 as Hwang fumbled with three straight bogeys from No. 11 and Lee dropped strokes on Nos. 12 and 15.

Just when she thought she had the crown in the bag, Ikeda lost her touch and bogeyed the par-5 16th which she bogeyed in the first two days and Hwang bounced back with those three birdies and Lee kept her bid going with back-to-back birdies from No. 16.

But Hwang failed to sustain her late charge and holed out with a bogey, leaving Ikeda and Lee to dispute the crown via playoff in the third leg of the circuit backed by Custom Clubmakers, BDO, Meralco, Sharp, KZGm PLDT, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and K&G Golf.