Strong closing nine nets Quintanilla PLO crown

MANILA, Philippines — Grace Quintanilla lost ground in the opening nine but recovered beautifully in the last five holes to survive an intense finale over Laurea Duque and win by two in the 59th Philippine Ladies Open Presented by Monde Nissin at the Manila Golf and Country Club yesterday.

Quintanilla’s overnight four-stroke lead vanished after eight holes as she kept missing the greens on the approach and some key putts for a fat 40 at the turn, but shot steadily with four pars and a bogey coming home to hoist a long-awaited title.

The 16-year-old from Inayawan, Cebu City, whose home club is Alta Vista, finished with a five-over 76 for 213, two clear off Duque in the tournament organized by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines (WGAP).

“It was a pretty rough start for me as putts wouldn’t go in. That’s the problem in the beginning as it affected me just a bit,” said Quintanilla, who received a big hug from daddy Gene on the 18th hole.

Duque pressed on impressively from the get-go but couldn’t maintain her drive as she bogeyed three straight holes from No. 14.

“I knew it was a huge task in the last two holes. I am still happy with the play this week and very excited to turn pro next week,” said the San Miguel Corp.-backed Duque.

Melissa Lee (89-259) and Grace Caffyn (93-290) won Class A and B, respectively, in the event sponsored by Philippine Sports Commission, The Turf Company and Dunkin Donuts. Silver sponsors were Diamond Auto, Filhome Builders, SPES Construction, Tesla Ecomax, Filinvest and Unioil, bronze sponsors included M2, Total Information Management, Let’s Golf Pare and Ayala Land Premier with Anessa and Coca Cola Beverages Philippines as other backers.