Pauline del Rosario became the first Filipina to win on the lucrative Taiwan LPGA Tour, claiming the TLPGA and Royal Open crown in style on a closing six-under 66 at the Royal Kuan-His Golf Club in Hsinchu County, Taiwan last Sunday.
The 18-year-old rallied charged back from seven down in the final round on a sizzling backside rally, finishing with a pair of 33s and nipping Taiwan OOM leader Yu Ju Chen by one on a 12-under 204 aggregate.
“I never expected to win at all. I didn’t have any time for practice and just slept two hours and then it was game time,” said the ICTSI-backed pro who has racked up a number of titles here and abroad as an amateur.
Chen slugged it out with Del Rosario in the last 18 holes, keeping a one-stroke lead by matching the Filipina’s 33 at the turn. But Del Rosario rattled off three straight birdies from No. 10 to grab the lead, fell into a tie with a bogey against Chen’s birdie on No. 14 but gunned down a clutch birdie from eight feet on No. 16 to edge Chen, who finished with a 68-205, by one.
Taiwan amateur Yu Sang Hou actually seized control with a solid 63 in the second round and took a huge lead heading to the final round but crumbled when the pressure got tough and skied to a 76, ending up fourth at 207 behind Thai Dusawi Soopimjit, who shot a 67 for a 206.
“Though I was down by 7 in the second round against an amateur, I was more worried with the Taiwanese and the Thai pros since they are the top players in the field,” added Del Rosario.
Del Rosario pocketed NT$1,200,000 (R2 million) for her feat that further enhanced a promising young pro career she launched earlier this year with a pair of runner-up finishes and a third place effort on the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour before scoring back-to-back victories at Orchard and Baguio.