HARMIE Constantino had a forgettable final round but managed to do enough to fend off Mafy Singson and win the ICTSI Aoki Classic at Eagle Ridge in Gen. Trias, Cavite on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021.
Harmie Constantino lost a four-stroke lead as she lost her rhythm and touch, but pounced on Mafy Singson’s late mishap to hack out a one-stroke victory despite a closing 75 in the last round.
Constantino survived a disastrous double bogey on the par-4 No. 9, which Singson birdied that allowed the skilled amateur to pull within one, eventually forcing a tie as the former yielded a costly stroke on No. 14.
But the former national champion regained her composure in the pressure-packed stretch, hitting clutch shots and pars, and then watched as Singson flubbed a par-putt bid on the 17th to pull off the escape win and complete her back-to-back title run at one of Eagle Ridge’s four championship courses.
“I guess this course just suits my game, the way it was set up,” said Constantino, who stunned Princess Superal by two in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge, also at Aoki, last March to mark her pro debut before the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) took the first of two breaks due to the spike of coronavirus cases in NCR Plus.
“I actually had a rough day, it wasn’t what I expected from myself. I thought I could’ve shot better,” added Constantino, who hit three birdies but fumbled with four other bogeys for a 38-37.
Constantino finished with a two-over 218, three strokes lower than her winning output over Superal but which proved enough to net her P112,500 and the momentum and confidence heading to the next LPGT stop at Highlands for the ICTSI Tagaytay Highlands Ladies Challenge on Nov. 10-12.
The organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. has also lined up another two-leg swing at Riviera after a weeklong break, holding the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Challenge on Nov. 24-26 and the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Championship on Dec. 1-3 at the Couples and Langers courses.
Singson, who with fellow amateur Laurea Duque showed up the pros with 70 and 72, respectively, Wednesday, rued his late mishap but proud of her runner-up finish on a 219 total after a 74 that likewise netted her first low amateur honors in the circuit put up by ICTSI.
“I played pretty clumsy but it was fun to be back on Tour,” said Singson, winner of the Fil-Am junior crown in Baguio in 2019, who flashed resiliency after dropping two strokes on No. 2. She shot three birdies against a bogey in the next eight holes, but bogeyed two of the last seven.