Young Rianne Malixi seeks to cap a prolific season with another victory, this time in team play as she shoots for the National Doubles Amateur Golf Championship diadem with Precious Zaragosa beginning tomorrow at the Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club in Quezon City.
Malixi, 12, has racked up three championships in the year about to end, including in the Philippine Junior Amateur Open (stroke play), which she ruled while playing in the lower age-group division.
She also won the Phil Am Open Match Play title and nipped Sophia Blanco to snare the Northern Luzon Regional plum, both at Luisita in Tarlac, making her one of the players to watch in the three-day tournament that drew 20 teams featuring the country’s leading and rising players in the ranks.
But the rising star from Benedictine International School, who also placed second in the WExpress RVF Cup in Canlubang, Laguna and came in third in the Riviera MVPSF Amateur Championship, remains wary of their chances, given the depth of the field although she expects to complement well with Zaragosa’s game in pursuit of the crown in the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation and organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.
Jed Dy likewise hopes to make the most of his new partnership with Mikha Fortuna as the former Junior World champion guns for a repeat after teaming up with LPGA Tour-bound and Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Bianca Pagdanganan to dominate the field last year.
But the rest of the teams have toughened up for NGAP’s season-ending tournament held as part of the PLDT National Amateur Golf Tour and backed by Cignal and Metro Pacific Investments with Northern Luzon Regional titlist and SEAG veteran Sean Ramos and Gabby Macalaguim and the pair of Indonesian Amateur Open titlist Luis Castro, also a member of the SEAG bronze medal team, and Andres Lorenzo looming as among the top contenders.
Other fancied pairs are Rald Sarmiento and Masaichi Otake, Paolo Barro and Jeff Jung, Zachary Castro and Miguel Ilas, Luigi Guerrero and Dan Cruz, Aldo Barro and Ivan Monsalve, Jonas Austria and Marco Olives, Santino Diokno and Miguel Roque, Laurea Duque and Eagle Ace Superal, Tomita Arejola and Nicole Abelar, and Sam Martirez and Diana Araneta.