ALL three winners in the first four legs of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) brace for what promises to be a furious and spirited battle for another crown as the ICTSI Summit Point Championship blasts off Tuesday at the Summit Point Golf and Country Club in Lipa City.
The monsoon rains that have drenched the course in recent weeks could add another layer to an already demanding test and although Summit Point is all-weather designed to withstand wet conditions, the softened fairways could alter the way the compact field attacks the layout, making distance control, approach shots and course management even more crucial in the P1-million championship.
Leg winners Yvon Bisera, Harmie Constantino and Chanelle Avaricio are all primed to heat up the title chase, but they face former leg champions and emerging stars equally determined to break into the championship picture.
Bisera comes in as the player to beat after scoring a runaway seven-shot victory over Chihiro Ikeda at Pradera Verde in the last LPGT leg.
But Bisera expects an entirely different challenge at Summit Point, where the layout and playing conditions present a contrasting test and her rivals are all geared up for a much tighter fight.
The Davaoeña star, who topped the kickoff leg at Lakewood, is also using the tournament as part of her buildup for her maiden Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association stint later this month, giving her added motivation to sharpen her game and sustain the momentum she has built on the local circuit.
Constantino routed the field by six shots at Caliraya Springs to snap a long title drought, then followed it up with a joint runner-up finish with Tiffany Lee at Pinewoods before winding up third at Pradera Verde.
Avaricio, meanwhile, seeks to flash the form that carried her to victory in the wild and tightly fought Pinewoods leg as she kept herself tournament-ready by competing in China two weeks.
Reigning Order of Merit champion Sarah Ababa and fellow former leg winners Mafy Singson, Princess Superal, Ikeda and Lee are all primed for another title run, as well as Martina Miñoza, Pamela Mariano, Velinda Castil, Rev Alcantara, Angela Mangana, Gretchen Villacencio and Korean Seoyun Kim.
Attention will also be on Daniella Uy, another multi-titled campaigner who emerged as the best Filipina finisher at joint 12th in the ICTSI Philippine Ladies Masters held at this same Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed layout last February.
With a third LPGT crown within sight and her first Korean LPGA appearance looming later this month, the 2025 Thailand Masters winner enters Summit Point with more than another championship at stake.