LUBAO, Pampanga. – Chanelle Avaricio barely survived a wind-blown day here Wednesday, coming in ruffled by the gusts for a 74 that set the stage for a wild finish in the ladies’ side of the ICTSI Pradera Verde Championship.
The three-leg winner still held the lead at 141 but the seven-shot turnaround from her fiery opening 67 typified the daunting challenge that the field endured although three broke par to make it a wide-open battle for top honors in the 54-hole, P1.25 million championship.
Harmie Constantino fought back from a mishap on No. 4 with birdies on Nos. 6 and 12 for a second straight 71 and 142 while Florence Bisera gunned down four birdies against two bogeys to wrest solo third at 143 after 36 holes of play.
With Pamela Mariano also firing a 71 for 145, a four-way battle for the top prize of P168,750 is in the works with the rest needing to come up with low rounds in another expected blustery conditions to get a stab at glory.
“I struggled on the greens with my club selection. I think nahirapan ako sa hangin at ‘yun ang adjustment,” said Avaricio, who hardly recovered from three bogeys in the first six holes although her second straight birdie on No. 10 kept her on top of the field she beat by six when she won here last June.
“I really wasn’t hitting it close to the pin and I didn’t really give myself chance (for birdies),” added the Hallow Ridge and Caliraya Springs leg champion, who is using the tournament as part of her buildup for the LPGA Q-School Stage II in Florida next month.
She later headed to the practice green to polish her stroke while vowing to make the necessary adjustments and not to be too aggressive in pursuit of a fourth championship.
But her rivals are all keen on ending her domination, with Constantino hoping to keep her consistent play to help fuel her drive for a third leg victory after winning two in a resounding rookie season last year.
“I think I really played consistent today (yesterday). Everything else was pretty consistent and I will try to the same thing tomorrow (today) — hit more greens and make more putts,” said Constantino.
