Mikha Fortuna came through with clutch pars to save a one-under 71 and edge The Country Club teammate Sofia Chabon by one to bag the third FCG Challenge Cup crown at the Pala Mesa Resort in Southern California Friday.
Fortuna birdied No. 2 then recovered from a double bogey mishap on No. 3 with two birdies in the next nine holes before going up-and-down twice in the last six to preserve a second straight 36-35 card and rule the 36-hole tournament, a Future Champions Golf ranking event.
The 15-year-old rising star from De La Salle-Zobel, who fell short of her title bid in a playoff in last week’s Women’s Western Golf Association event in Ohio, pooled a 142.
Chabon, one down at the start of the round, actually took the lead after Fortuna’s double-bogey on the third but reeled back with bogeys on Nos. 5 and 7. But she fought back with an eagle-3 on the eighth to tie only to fall back again with a bogey on No. 9.
