TAIWAN – Chanelle Avaricio closed out her campaign at the Party Golfers Ladies Open with a steady 70, underscoring another challenging week for the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour contingent at the Lily Golf and Country Club in Hsinchu.
Local standout Wenny Chang held off a spirited charge from Thailand’s PK Kongkraphan to rule the annual event co-sanctioned by the LPGT and the Taiwan LPGA Tour with a 66 for a commanding three-stroke victory.
Avaricio mounted an early run from deep down the leaderboard, mixing two birdies with a bogey on the front nine to push herself within striking distance of the Top 10. After adding another birdie on the par-5 11th, she generated several promising looks but failed to convert, settling for a string of pars as the field battled brisk winds and biting temperatures across the rugged par-72 course.
She finished with a 217 total – good for a share of 13th place, the highest finish by any LPGT campaigner this week. Though not enough to crack the upper tier, the result marked a significant improvement from her 50th-place showing last year and highlighted her steady progress in regional competition.
Florence Bisera, who entered the 54-hole tournament with high hopes following a breakthrough win in Thailand, closed with a 73 to settle for joint 27th at 222. Princess Superal and LK Go both finished at 223 for a share of 37th, with Go carding a fiery finish – two birdies in her last four holes at the front –to salvage a 71.
Daniella Uy, the top-performing LPGT player in the event’s history thanks to her joint fourth-place effort in 2019, never found her footing this week. She struggled to a 75 and slipped to 43rd with a 224 total. Mafy Singson also endured a shaky final round, signing for a 76 to end in 52nd at 227.
Meanwhile, Chang kept her poise amid Kongkraphan’s blistering final-round 65. Chang birdied the final hole to fire a six-under card for a 10-under 206 total, surviving a late bogey to secure a two-shot triumph.
Kongkraphan, a multi-titled veteran on the Taiwan circuit, ran out of holes in her valiant bid but delivered one of the cleanest rounds of the week – a bogey-free 30-35 finish – to claim solo second at 209.
