Chihiro Ikeda heads to tee No. 2 inspired following an opening hole birdie.

TRECE MARTIRES, Cavite – Back in harness, Chihiro is back in the groove, shooting an eagle-spiked 70 to storm ahead by two over Gretchen Villacencio and Chanelle Avaricio as fancied Harmie Constantino and Princess Superal stumbled coming off a layoff at start of the ICTSI Sherwood Ladies Challenge here yesterday.

Gaining much from a long break to heal an injured hand, the Fil-Japanese took charge in a topsy-turvy opener of the P750,000 event, closing out her frontside stint at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club with back-to-back birdies then breaking a bogey-birdie-bogey roll from No. 11 with an eagle on No. 15 to wrest control with a 34-36.

But she lost steam at the end of the scorching day, bogeying the 18th and missing padding her lead to three.

“I didn’t expect to go under. I was looking at a 3-over start which I think is good given the long layoff,” said Ikeda. “But I still feel some pain (in my left hand) all throughout.”

Chihiro Ikeda hits an approach shot on No. 8.

Villacencio missed grabbing solo second as she matched flightmate Ikeda’s closing bogey for a 70, the same output put in by Avaricio after blowing a lone birdie on the par-3 11th with a bogey on the par-5 15th even as Constantino and Superal struggled with identical 74s.

“We’re happy for the resumption of the tour and we’re all playing inspired following Yuka’s (Saso) win (in the US Women’s Open),” said Villacencio, who led in the first two days in the Riviera Classic in 2018 before succumbing to Superal in the final round for her closest stab at LPGT glory.

While majority played by their lonesome under strict health and safety guidelines, Villacencio got a little help from dad and touring pro Arnold, who took care of her bag and provided some tips on club selections and on the greens.

Chanelle Avaricio gets into the mix early with a 70.

“I had a good round partly because I had a caddie, who really gave me a big lift,” added Villacencio.
“We’re really happy that the tour is back. It’s an exciting feeling competing again, being with your friends,” added Ikeda, hinting at another conservative approach on a course so demanding and tough with the challenges coming into play in most holes.

Constantino, who marked her pro debut with a two-shot victory over Superal in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge last March before play was suspended, and Daniella Uy shared the early lead with birdies on Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, with the unfancied Villacencio grabbing the spotlight next with back-to-back birdies from No. 4 before slipping to second with a bogey on the ninth.

But after a birdie-bogey card after eight holes, Ikeda took command on that hot frontside finish and held sway to the finish in an inspiring start for a player who pulled off a victory over Pauline del Rosario in sudden death with an injured hand to claim her last crown at the Tagaytay Midlands in 2019.

Gretchen Villacencio moves into early contention despite shaky finish

She then went on an on-and-off campaign trying to buck that injury, barely losing the Summit Point title by one to Korean Hwang Min-Jeong at the close of the seventh season of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. She also skipped the Eagle Ridge Challenge last March.

Superal, who ruled one of the two Riviera events in the LPGT’s initial restart after an eight-month hiatus late last year, actually stayed within striking despite a bogey on the opening hole. Another miscue on No. 7 and a double-bogey on the ninth, however, dropped the multi-titled shotmaker down the rankings although she fought back by birdying the last two par-5s to save a 74 (40-34) for joint fourth with Constantino, who birdied the last to salvage a 36-38, four strokes off Ikeda.

Uy ended up with a 77 for joint sixth with amateur Burberry Zhang while Sunshine Baraquiel lay another stroke back at 78 followed by Korean amateur Jane Jeong (80) and Monsalve (81) with two rounds left in the first of four events in Cavite in the next five weeks.