The touring ladies can hardly wait to get going in a full season following a limited campaign due to pandemic the past two years, all ready and bracing for a fierce duel in pursuit of top honors starting with the ICTSI Luisita Championship on March 22-24.
Princess Superal, who won three of the first five Ladies Philippine Golf Tour titles under the bubble setup before skipping the next five legs of the 2021 season, is back to headline the stellar cast in the P750,000, kicking off a 10-stage circuit culminating in a grand finale in November.
The former US Girls’ Junior champion is building up for a series of stints in the US with plans to seek a card in the LPGA Tour of Japan in a series of qualifiers later in the season as she tries to get better and stronger with health experts seeing pandemic’s acute phase to end by midyear.
But Superal will be facing a slew of aces also eager to launch their respective campaigns on a winning note in the 54-hole championship at the fabled Luisita layout in Tarlac, including reigning LPGT Order of Merit champion Harmie Constantino.
The former national champion humbled Superal right in her pro debut at Eagle Ridge last year then went on to nail another title, also at the Aoki layout, on her way to topping the OOM derby in the absence of Superal.
Sunshine Baraquiel, Chanelle Avaricio, and Daniella Uy, who also scored a breakthrough of their own at Midlands and Riviera’s Couples and Langer courses, respectively, are also in the hunt, guaranteeing a spirited battle, not just for the upcoming tournament but also for the rest of the season.
That includes the second leg at the Hallow Ridge Golf Club on April 5-8 with the up-and-down San Pedro, Laguna layout hosting an LPGT event for the first time, providing a new test of golf for the women of the tour put up by ICTSI.
Completing the Luisita roster are former leg winner Sarah Ababa, Florence Bisera, Apple Fudolin, Lovelynn Guioguio, Pamela Mariano, Eva Miñoza, Marvi Monsalve, Majorie Pulumbarit, Keena Puzon, Gretchen Villacencio, Sheryl Villasencio and Korean Jane Jeong.
Multi-titled Chihiro Ikeda is also in the fold, eager to snap a long title drought in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. with strict protocols still in place to ensure health and safety of all players along with the event and course personnel.
