Ikeda favorite to win RP ladies amateur crown

Louise Manalo’s decision not to defend her crown in the 48th Philippine Ladies Open Amateur Golf Championship installs Chihiro Ikeda as the favorite to win the title next week at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club in Carmona, Cavite.

The currently Belgium-based Manalo, who beat Dottie Ardina and Korean Shine Lee in last year's RP Open also at Southwoods, had already sent word of her non-participation to the organizing Women's Golf Association of the Philippines (WGAP). Ikeda, the individual gold medalist in the recent Southeast Asian Games, is expected to face a tough opponent in Ardina, who was also part of the national team which won the gold in Laos. Although Ikeda and Ardina have faced numerous times in the past three years, there's no rivalry between them. In fact, they insist they just do their best on the course and just see who plays better as the tournament progresses. They even bid each other good luck each time they face off. "We are very good friends on and off the course. We share bonding time as teammates in the ICTSI (International Container Terminal Services, Inc.) golf program," Ikeda and Ardina jointly said to GMANews.TV. Ardina, who teamed up with Ikeda and Mia Piccio to steer the RP team to the gold medal in last month’s SEA Games in Laos, is on an extended holiday break from her US studies and is itching to start her bid for the crown against a crack local and international field. The 15-year-old Ardina is actually coming off an impressive 2009 campaign on the new Future Collegians World Tour (FWCT) in the US where she ruled two legs – the Naples Beach Challenge and the Champions Gate Challenge, both in Florida. Out to foil their bid are Koreans Sun Hae Cho, Mi Yeon Kang and Mingi Kim; Singapore’s Stephanie Loi, Joey Poh and Ko Sock Hwee; Geneveuve Ling I-Ryn, Celeste Lo, Cheryl Lo, Aretha Pan Herng, Vivienne Chin Ven Yi and Nurul Sararudin of Malysia; Shannon Park and Lourdes Acuesta of the US; Sta. Elena member Gaelle Marquet of France, Cangolf members Ikuko Kito and Maki Kageyama of Japan. The tournament will also feature the Class A and Class B events where the final composition will be classified on the second day. The field will be composed of players from the country’s top clubs, including Sta. Elena, Eagle Ridge, Southwoods, Valley Golf, Orchard, Riviera, Tagaytay Highlands, Alta Vista, Forest Hills, Pueblo de Oro, Cangolf, Del Monte and Navy. – Adrian Flores, GMANews.TV