THAI Ploychompoo Wirairungreung sparkled despite cloudy skies and wet conditions, outshining local ace Princess Superal with a solid seven-under 65 to wrest a two-stroke lead over Taiwanese amateur Hou Yu-Chiang at the start of the ICTSI Champion Tour in the Manila Southwoods yesterday.
While majority of the starting 100-player field struggled on the soggy fairways of the Legends course that played longer than its 6,543 yardage and its softened, unreceptive greens, Wirairungreung and Hou, who shot a 67, romped off with the day’s two bogey-free rounds as they seized the 1-2 posts in the $75,000 event sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
Hou sister Yu-Sang, also an amateur, missed wresting solo third with a bogey on the par-5 17th and dropped to joint third with Thai Chatprapa Siriprakob at 69 while Superal holed out with a birdie to save a 70 for a share of fifth with Taiwanese Lee Hsin and Lee Chia-Pei, Aunchisa Utama and Supamas Sangchan of Thailand and Singapore’s Amelia Wong.
What made Wirairungreung’s feat doubly impressive was she did it on her first foray on a rain-hit course that she said suits her game. (PR)