LIPA City, Batangas – Nemittra Juntanaket staved off an early threat from Ajira Nualraksa then hit a clutch birdie on No. 12 to check a brief skid and pull away en route to securing a breakthrough victory on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour with a 71 in the ICTSI Mt. Malarayat Ladies Classic here yesterday.

Bracing for a final round shootout in hot, windy conditions with fellow Thais Pimpadsorn Sangkagaro and Nualraksa, Juntanaket outshot her rivals and went 3-up with birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 but stumbled with three bogeys in a six-hole stretch from No. 6, enabling the rest of the best to close in again.

But she quickly dashed their hopes with a birdie on the 12th as she built another three-stroke cushion over her nearest pursuer – and with no able to put up a strong finish, the 22-year-old Pha-Yao native rolled to a whopping six-stroke triumph on a 216 total she spiked with another birdie on the difficult closing hole. It was her first win in her two-year stint in the country’s premier circuit and second overall after ruling the Pan Thai Open in 2017.

“Had a good game and hung tough out there,” said Juntaket, who actually launched her bid in the P750,000 event put up by ICTSI with a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 No. 1 on a lost ball off a wild drive on a rolling championship course that offers several options off the mound and requires precision to get the good landing spots on its undulating, tricky surface that shattered the bids of many a contender, including local ace Princess Superal.

But what came next was a series of well thought out shots as she produced three birdies in the last six holes to even wrest control with a 72 after 18 holes then held sway in the next round despite a 73 marred by two bogeys in the last three holes to hang to a one-shot edge over Sangkagaro Thursday.

“I was fully motivated by the support of my team, including my swing coach and my parents and this victory will surely boost my confidence going to Summit Point,” said Juntanaket, who pocketed the top purse of P150,000, referring to The Women’s Championship at Summit Point, also here next week.

Three off Juntanaket with Superal and last year’s winner Onkanok Soisuwan after 36 holes, Nualraksa pulled to within one with a two-under card after eight holes, only to reel back with a double bogey on the ninth, a mishap that led to three more bogeys in the first six holes at the back. She wound up with a 75 for joint third with Korean Hwang Min-Jeong at 223.

Pimpadsorn skied to a 76 but still took the runner-up honors at 222 worth P90,000.

Hwang, who won here as an amateur in 2015 and scored her maiden pro win at Splendido last January, finally broke par with a 71 to break into the Thais’ domination of the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

Numa Gulyanamitta, also of Thailand, placed solo fifth at 224 after a 75 while Soisuwan, who posted her maiden pro win in wire-to-wire fashion last year, ended up sixth at 226 after a 78 as the country’s perennial regional rivals took all but one of the top six spots in the 54-hole championship backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Empire Golf and Sports and M.Y. Shokai Technology, Inc.

“It’s really tough out there, failed to land the spots that I wanted to all tournament-long,” rued Superal, the first Filipina to win the prestigious US Girls’ Junior crown in 2014, who despite groping for form in the first two days (75-73), stayed within striking distance at three back.

But four bogeys in a birdie-less stint at Mt. Malipunyo dropped the reigning LPGT Order of Merit out of contention. She made three more bogeys at Mt. Makulot and ended with her worst final round in years – 79 – and limped with a 79 for joint seventh, still the best among the locals, with Thai Alisara Wedchakama, who rallied with a 73, at 227.

Marvi Monsalve, who trailed Juntanaket by just two with an opening 74, also failed to recover from a disastrous second round 77, groping for a 78 for a share of ninth with Pamela Mariano, who carded a 76, at 229.