Golf: Amateur Pinay bets to get a taste of the pro game at Indonesia Open

Jakarta — Cyna Rodriguez, Dottie Ardina and Jayvie Agojo will once again get a glimpse of what it feels like to play in a professional tournament as they headline the amateur line-up of the Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open at the Palm Hill Golf and Country Club, beginning Thursday.                  Under the spotlight this week are 84 players coming from England, Australia, France, South Africa, Thailand, Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Wales, USA, the Philippines and host Indonesia.                  The three ICTSI-The Country Club Philippine bets, who are pro-bound in the near future, are coming off impressive victories over the past two months and are raring to strut their wares against 70 of the best golfers from the Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT) and Ladies European Tour (LET).                  Rodriguez won the Hong Kong Amateur Open, Ardina captured the Taiwan Amateur and Canlubang Opens, while Agojo brought home the Santi Cup and the LPGA Taiwan Regional Qualifier, much to the delight of ICTSI-TCC and women’s national coach Bong Lopez.                  “These girls are trained to join in this kind of event where some of the elite players from all over the world.  I have faith in my girls.  I believe that one of them can be the champion in the end,” said Lopez, who arrived with the girls early to have two good practice rounds. Rodriguez tees off earliest at 8:40am at Palm Hill’s back nine in the company of Pinrath Loonboonruang of Thailand and Satarak Walailak of the US. At the front nine, Ardina has Jean Chua of Malaysia and Plucksataporn Titiya of Thailand as flight mates, while Agojo will be paired with Masami Nakamori of Japan and Nualraksa Ajira of Thailand.                  Though they are not qualified to win any cash prize from the total of $200,000, the Filipinas would like to show their readiness to advance to the next level, as they vie for the overall title and the low amateur crown against 11 other amateur Asian participants.                  Stacey Keating of Australia, the French Open and Tenerife Open de España Femenino champion in the LET, leads an impressive roster of foreign stars in the 54-hole event, the ninth leg in the LAGT and the richest sporting tournament in Southeast Asia.                  Aside from Keating, eight out of the top ten golfers in the Women’s World Golf Ranking in Asia will be in action at the long and challenging, par-72 course.                  Among them are Thailand’s Nontaya Srisawang and Tiranan Yoopan, both winners of the Ladies Asian Golf Tour this season, and England’s Rebecca Hudson and Nikki Garrett from Australia, who boast multiple titles on the Ladies European Tour.                  Nontaya claimed the Ladies Thailand Open in February while Tiranan triumphed in last month’s Technology Cup in Taiwan.  Indonesia’s Lydia Ivana Jaya will lead the local group along with the glamorous Inez Putri, who is also the 2012 Miss Indonesia World and a national team member. - AMD, GMA News