TAIWAN – LK Go and Florence Bisera battled through biting cold and swirling winds to salvage identical 72s, overcoming a pair of double bogeys to place themselves in early contention – just four strokes behind local favorite Ho Yu An – at the start of the Party Golfers Ladies Open on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Go wobbled right out of the gate at the Lily Golf and Country Club in Hsinchu, stumbling with a bogey on the opening hole. But the Filipina steadied herself quickly, stringing together four birdies against a lone bogey over her next eight holes to make the turn at one-under.
As temperatures dropped and the winds picked up on the back nine, she faced a tougher challenge, dropping shots on Nos. 13, 15 and 16. Still, she showed resilience, sandwiching those miscues with birdies on Nos. 14 and 17 to close with a 34-38 card on the par-35-37 layout marked by sharp elevation changes and exposed fairways.
Bisera, who started on No. 10, also endured a rollercoaster round. She turned what could’ve been an early momentum-builder – a promising approach on the par-5 11th – into a costly double bogey after topping her pitch-in birdie attempt. A bogey on the 13th pushed her near the tail end of the 102-player field.
But the Davaoeña refused to crack in the cold, steadying her rhythm in the gusts and bouncing back with consecutive birdies from No. 14. She then strung together three more birdies against two bogeys on her closing nine to match Go’s 34-38 round and join a logjam for eighth place.
“Sayang, around the green lang yung pitch-in birdie ko pero na topped ball,” said Bisera, recalling her early miscue. “Bawi na lang. I will just stick to my game plan and do my best on every shot.”
The conditions, she admitted, were a lot tougher – far colder and windier than last year. “May mga holes na nag-struggle ako pero meron din naman na nag-shine ako with birdies,” she added.
Preparing for the cold has become part of her routine. “Focus lang talaga and really prepare for the weather, like bringing a lot of heat packs,” she said, thanking the Ladies PGT for providing warmers to help players keep their hands loose and functional amid the numbing temperatures.
Despite the harsh weather, Go and Bisera positioned themselves well entering the second round, standing just four shots behind An, who fired a 68 powered by a four-birdie spree over a six-hole stretch from No. 13. An holds a one-stroke lead over Thai veteran PK Kongkraphan and another Taiwanese contender, Yu Hsin Huang, who matched 69s.
Local bets also dominated the next flight of challengers. Juliana Hung, Wenny Chang, Ya-Chi Chang, Ching Huang and Shu Tung Lee all carded 71s to crowd An and apply early pressure in the 54-hole tournament co-sanctioned by the Taiwan LPGA and the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.
Kongkraphan, a multi-titled TLPGA campaigner fresh off a win at last month’s Jing-Mao Ladies Open, kept herself in the hunt with a clean, bogey-free three-under round – an impressive feat given the punishing gusts and shifting wind directions.
“I think my tee shot was great today and my putting, that’s why I had a bogey-free round,” she said. Like the rest of the field, the Thai ace struggled at times in the unpredictable wind. “It was very hard to play with the wind changing directions all the time. But I just kept the ball in the fairway and greens and focused on my routine.”
As temperatures are expected to remain low throughout the week, the Filipinas will need to lean on the grit they displayed in the opener. With the wind a constant threat and the leaderboard tightly packed, composure – and warmth – could be just as important as precision over the remaining 36 holes.
Meanwhile, the other LPGT regulars struggled in the cold, blustery conditions. Daniella Uy carded a 74 to sit in joint 21st, Princess Superal and Chanelle Avaricio skied to a pair of 76s for a share of 37th, while Mafy Singson matched par with a 35 at the front but unraveled coming home, yielding four bogeys and a double bogey over the last nine to slip to joint 43rd with a 77.
