Indonesia SEA Games could be Ikeda's swan song

JAKARTA, Indonesia—Chihiro Ikeda's stint in women's golf in the 26h Southeast Asian Games could very well be her swan song tournament in her very successful amateur career. That is, if, she makes it past the four-stage qualifier of the Japan Women's Pro Tour. Currently, Ikeda, the many-time national amateur champ and member of the national squad, is on her way to the Stage 2 after getting good scores in the first stage. She'll have her hands full here in the SEA Games before heading back to Japan next week. The 20-year-old Filipina-Japanese is all set to lead the country's drive for a second straight team gold medal this week at the Jagorawi Golf Club alongside ICTSI stablemates Dottie Ardina and Andrea Unson. Jayvie Agojo was tapped as an alternate. "My mind-set is to bring glory once more for the country. And yes, it may be my last event as an amateur. That's why I am so excited and pumped-up now," said Ikeda, also the reigning individual gold medalist after topping the event in the 2009 Laos SEAG in Vientiane. Ikeda is set to arrive Saturday coming from Japan. Ardina and Unson arrived here Friday and spent the afternoon in the greens of the Jagorawi Golf Club. They both liked the new course and both promised good-showing in the golf competition which starts on November 14. "The par-72 layout is a little bit hard with its tall roughs around the greens and up-and-down fairways but we are okay with that. We are used to this condition anyway," Ardina, 17, said. Unson, the 16-year-old SEAG rookie, is a bit jittery in her practice round, as expected. Though, she is quite confident of contributing in the three-to-play, two-to-count format. "Excited and nervous," was Unson's reply. — Adrian Flores/JVP, GMA News