Del Rosario fights back, rescues a 69 for joint 4th

MANILA, Philippines – Pauline del Rosario bounced back strong from an early double-bogey slip with a run of backside birdies as she came away with a four-under 68 for joint fourth at the start of the LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying School Stage II at the Plantation Golf and Country’s Bobcat and Panther courses in Venice, Florida Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time).

Three birdies against a bogey in the next six holes after dropping two strokes on the par-5 No. 3 of the Panther layout put del Rosario back on track with a frontside 36 and she unleashed a couple of superb iron shots to birdie the last two par-3s (Nos. 11 and 15) while gaining strokes on Nos. 14 and 16, leading to a 32 and a spot in the leaderboard after 18 holes of the 72-hole tournament.

The Top 40 and ties from the starting field of 189 will advance to the Q-Series, the final leg of a grueling elims leading to coveted LPGA Tour cards.

Those who will complete 72 holes but won’t advance to the Q-Series will earn 2024 Epson Tour status.

The ICTSI-backed del Rosario, who ended up at No. 79 after the Epson Tour season with a best finish of tied 18th (Circling Raven Championship) in 20 events, appeared headed for a rough outing after that double bogey miscue. But that hardly shook her confidence as she birdied the next and gained another stroke on No. 6 after yielding a shot on the fifth.

She then settled down after two pars, dominating the par-5 ninth then hacking a solid tee-shot on No. 11 to go one-under. Though she missed a birdie chance on No. 13, the former Ladies Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit winner rattled off three straight birdies from No. 14 to turn a shaky start to an impressive finish.

She trailed Samantha Vodry by just three after the American scorched the Panther course with a solid 65 for a two-stroke lead over world No. 1 amateur Ingrid Lindblad from Sweden and American amateur Sabrina Iqbal, who matched 67s, while another pair of amateurs — Anne Chen, also of the US, and Canadian Savannah Grewal — and American Kaitlin Milligan joined del Rosario at fourth with four-under rounds.

The two other Filipina bidders, however, struggled as amateur Tomita Arejola tripped with a 75 at Bobcat