THAI LEADS, BIANCA IN THE HUNT

PK KONGKRAPHAN outdueled Bianca Pagdanganan in a clash of nerves in the wind at the finish as she pounced on the Filipina ace’s double bogey mishap on No. 16 then birdied the 17th to grab a one-stroke lead with a 68 after 18 holes of the Anvaya Cove International on Wednesday in Morong, Bataan.

The troika in the featured threesome, including Taiwan’s No. 1 Ya-Chun Chang, lived up to the hype as they sized each other up in an otherwise subdued battle at Anvaya Cove’s Mountain Nine (front nine) then turned it into a virtual shootout and a test of poise in the windy Seaside Nine (back side).

Pagdanganan sizzled with an eaglebirdie-birdie run from No. 10 to wrest control at five-under but dropped to a share of lead with the Thai with a double-bogey on the par-three No. 16 after overshooting it. S he needed two shots to get into the green then two putted for 5 and yielded the lead as Kongkraphan drained a clutch birdie from 12 feet on the penultimate hole.

The Filipina ace settled for a 69 while Chang survived a rollercoaster backside of four birdies against a double bogey and a bogey to salvage a

70 for joint third with compatriot YiTsen Chou and Thai Kusuma Meechai.

Taiwanese Ching Huang, a former Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) winner at Midlands, and Thai Kultida Pramphun matched 71s, while Hsuan-Ping Chang and fellow Taiwanese Tsai-Ching Tseng and Thais Pakin Kawinpakorn and Preenaphan Poomklay had par 72s.

The rest of the locals, however, wavered in tough conditions, including last year’s three-leg winner Chanelle Avaricio, who limped with a 77 in a tie with reigning LPGT Order of Merit champion Chihiro Ikeda for joint 27th, while Harmie Constantino and Daniella Uy struggled with 78s with 36 holes left in the $100,000 event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. and co-sanctioned by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) of Taiwan.

That Kongkraphan, Pagdanganan and Chang took the top three spots hardly came as a surprise for a gallery that was treated to top-notch shotmaking not just from the fancied three but from the rest of the 69-player field made up of the top TLPGA, Thai LPGA and LPGT campaigners.

A nd the world-class Kevin Ramsey-designed course dotted with water hazards and strategically-