Harmie Constantino fought back from a five-stroke deficit with a brilliant frontside 33, then maintained her lead to finish with a 69 and win the ICTSI Palos Verdes Championship by three strokes as her rivals faltered one after another in a tense battle of skill and character on Thursday.
This victory marked Constantino’s seventh in her professional career, which began with two wins at Eagle Ridge in her debut year of 2021. While she acknowledges that this win might not be at the top of her list, she still considers it one of the sweetest, having turned a losing position into a winning one.
“I’d say it’s one of the sweetest, but not the top,” said Constantino. After her strong start propelled her to the top, she maintained consistency on the back nine, securing the victory with nine pars for a 54-hole total of 217.
In contrast, two-day leader Lois Kaye Go struggled to recover from a shaky start, missing par chances and making poor judgments. She ended up with a 78 and dropped to joint fourth at 221 with Florence Bisera and Laurea Duque, who carded 72 and 74, respectively.
Sarah Ababa, the Apo Golf Classic winner, who was tied with Constantino and five shots behind Go after 36 holes, stayed within striking distance with a two-under card after 12 holes. However, missed par putts inside 3 feet on Nos. 13 and 14 set her back.
“I missed a couple of short putts for pars,” lamented Ababa. “They were so close, but I failed to sink them.”
She rebounded with a birdie on the 16th but missed a birdie bid from seven feet on No. 17 before holing out with a three-putt bogey for a 72. Ababa wound up tied for second at 220 with Chihiro Ikeda, who also struggled to rebound from a frontside 39 and a double bogey on No. 11 for a 75.
Reflecting on her big comeback, Constantino, who repelled top amateur Rianne Malixi in sudden death in the rain-hit LPGT Match Play Invitational in 2022 and ruled the inaugural LPGT Philippine Masters winner, both at her home course at Villamor, attributed her success to playing her game and minimizing mistakes.
(C) LPGT
“I also stayed patient, kept my cool out there throughout the day,” said Constantino, who banked the top P90,000 prize out of the total prize fund of P750,000 in the second leg of the 10-stage LPGT circuit.
Despite holding a lead in the stretch, Constantino remained uncertain of her chances given the competitiveness of the field and the challenges posed by the course. Her victory, although somewhat anticlimactic, was sealed on the last hole with a par after seeking relief from an embedded ball.
Throughout the day, Constantino never felt like the victory was assured, saying, “Not until I got to the last hole and putted my last one.”
She also hopes her victory will serve as inspiration for youngsters to take up the sport.
“I hope this win will encourage kids to play, especially girls. There are plenty of opportunities for them to excel in golf,” said Constantino.
Go, meanwhile, remained optimistic about bouncing back from the setback.
“Obviously, nothing went well,” she said. “My first few bogeys, I hit good chips but made some bad judgments.
“It just didn’t turn out the way I thought it would,” said Go, who made four bogeys against two birdies at the front and stumbled with three more bogeys and a double bogey on No. 16, where she drove out-of-bounds, against a birdie on No. 15 for a 38-40.
