CHIHIRO IKEDA

The Southern Ladies golf tournament gets going this Thursday with no less than a first round shootout between two of the fancied bets looming at the Iloilo Golf and Country Club, in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.

Reigning SEA Games gold medalist Chihiro Ikeda and fellow ICTSI mainstay Dottie Ardina are paired in the 8:20 a.m. flight that include Canlubang’s Lucy Landicho and new ICTSI recruit Sun Choi, ensuring a high-powered action right in the first round of the 54-hole tournament.

Del Monte’s Lovelyn Guioguio, who finished runner-up to Cyna Rodriguez in the recent Philippine Ladies Amateur Open, is also up in an early showdown with ICTSI bet and former champion Anya Tanpinco along with Bacolod’s Cara Golez and Cangolf’s Ikuko Kito at 8:10 a.m.

Fifty-eight players are teeing off in the tournament, sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission, WWWExpress-DHL Worldwide Express, Hans Brumann Jeweler, DPC Yellow Pages, Karat World and Sarabia Manor Hotel, which gathers the finest golfing ladies and upcoming stars.

Events on tap are the individual, team and seniors competitioins. Aside from the centrepiece Championship Flight, other titles to be disputed are Classes A, B, C and D.  The seniors division will be for players 50 years old and above.

The individual competition will be a 54-hole tournament under the Molave scoring format while the seniors and team event, a four-to-play, three-to-count format, will be played in the first two days over 36 holes using the Stableford scoring system (net of handicap).

Both winless in the new season, Ikeda and Ardina are expected to slug it out right from the opening hole in a bid to build momentum and confidence heading into the crucial stretch of the tournament.