ILOILO -– Sarah Ababa moved closer to her second victory in the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour this season with a stellar two-under 68, taking the lead over former co-leader Chihiro Ikeda after 36 holes in the ICTSI Iloilo Golf Challenge on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.
Despite starting one stroke behind the leaders and facing a double bogey on the second hole, the Davaoeña veteran quickly rebounded with a birdie on the par-3 fifth. Ababa’s resilience was evident as she navigated the challenging back nine, recording consecutive birdies from No. 12 and finishing with another on the last hole for a solid back nine of 31.
Her total of 141 puts her just one stroke ahead of Ikeda, who matched par with a 70 for a 142. Ababa, who has struggled in recent tournaments, now aims to build on her two-stroke victory over Mafy Singson at Apo last March. She credited her strong performance to her father, former Tour player Edgar, who served as her caddie.
“My putting clicked, and I felt more relaxed with my father on the bag,” Ababa said in Filipino. “There’s pressure when I miss shots because he gets upset, but I turned that into a positive by improving on my mistakes.”
As she heads into the final round against Ikeda and Princess Superal, Ababa remains focused on her game plan. “I’m not thinking about who I’m paired with. I’ll just enjoy it and stick to our game plan,” she added.
Ikeda, who co-led after the first round, remained optimistic about breaking her title drought despite a bogey on the 14th. “I’ll need to play steady tomorrow and hopefully go under par,” she said.
Four strokes back at 145, Superal emphasized the importance of ball positioning. “Ball placement will be the key. I need to set up birdie chances or at least secure pars,” she noted, aiming to improve her driving and putting.
Villacencio, in fourth place with 146, shot a 74, while Avaricio struggled with three early bogeys to finish fifth at 147. Fortuna fell to joint sixth with a 77, tied with Kayla Nocum (74) at 149. Harmie Constantino and Mafy Singson are tied for eighth at 151, while Daniella Uy slipped to 152 and Jiwon Lee struggled to recover from a rough first round, finishing at 154, tied with Pamela Mariano and Marvi Monsalve. / Golf Pinoy Dotcom