Ardina finishes joint 11th in Callaway juniors

Dottie Ardina's fiery wind up of two birdies in the last six holes allowed her to finish for a share of 11th - the best by a Philippine bet - in the girls' 15-17 division of the Callaway Junior World Championship ruled by Korean Kim Hyo-joo in San Diego, California. Ardina carded a one-under 73 at Torrey Pinces' par-74 North course for a 72-hole tally of 295, a score she shared with Taiwan's Chi Wang, Hawaii's Cassy Isagawa and Japan's Hayu Hosaka. They were 14 strokes behind Kim, who shot a final six-under 68. The four-time junior world winner Ardina, chasing a fifth crown overall, railled and made a five-under (70 and 73) in the homestretch. However, the four-over (77 and 75) in the initial rounds were too much to bare, even with her great skills for the game. "I got into a deep hole early. I poured it on in the late rounds and emerged as the top Philippine representative in my division," said Ardina. Ardina really wanted to win badly this year because it is her last time to play in the junior world stage. She's turning 18 next year and there's a big possibility of her turning pro with Chihiro Ikeda of the ICTSI golf team headed by national coach Bong Lopez. "There's a plan but nothing's definite yet," she added. Andrea Unson, another ICTSI member, also shot a 73 for 297. She was more consistent with her short game although she got marred by a 77 in the penultimate day. She wound up at solo 16th spot. Over at the Riverwalk Golf Club's par-72 Presidio/Mission Course, pint-sized Rupert Zaragosa (74-225), and Gen Nagai (80-225) were tied for 29th while Allenby Ramos was at 33rd (77-226) in the boys 13-14 division. In the girls 13-14 category at the Oak Glen course at Sycuan Resort, Lareina Gonzales (75-223), Bianca Pagdanganan (74-224), Princess Superal (78-225), Rachita Vasandani (73-226) and Daniela Uy (74-230) were the finishers for the Philippines behind champ Lilia Khatu Vu (69-211) of California. - Adrian Flores/JVP, GMA News