Yvon Bisera made good on her vow to fight back, closing with a solid five-under 67 to storm into the Top 10 while local ace Yu Chiang Hou held her nerve through a dramatic three-way playoff to capture the Kenda Tires TLPGA Open at the Taichung International Golf Club on Friday in Taiwan.
After a costly 73 in the second round dented her bid following an impressive opening 67, the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) star returned to the course with renewed purpose and produced her second five-under card in the tournament to vault from joint 16th to ninth at nine-under 207.
Bisera hi three consecutive birdies from No. 4 to ignite her final-round charge. Birdies at Nos. 13 and 17 completed a gutsy comeback that restored the momentum she had lost a day earlier. She was just one stroke off the lead after the opening round but slipped seven shots behind the pace following a costly second-round stumble.
While the late surge came too late to put her back into contention for the title, it provided a strong finish to a tournament in which Bisera showed she could contend with the region’s leading players.
Seoyun Kim also rallied strong, firing a bogey-free 68 to emerge as the next-best LPGT player, tying for 20th at 212 in the NT$4-million, 54-hole championship, a co-sanctioned tournament by the LPGT.
The young Korean made two birdies on each nine and relied on a couple of clutch scrambling pars to keep her card spotless and complete a steady final-round recovery.
Sarah Ababa carded a 72 after making two birdies on the back nine that offset a pair of bogeys, finishing joint 23rd at 213.
Mafy Singson mounted her own late charge. She opened the back nine with a sizzling 33 but wavered down the stretch, needing a birdie on No. 8 to salvage a 36 coming home. Her closing 69 nevertheless lifted her six places to a share of 31st at 214.
Jiwon Lee, the other LPGT mainstay to make the cut, closed with a 72 to share 49th at 218.
But while Bisera and the other LPGT players were battling to finish strong, the tournament at the top was turning into a gripping local thriller.
Hou, one of the former twin prodigies of Taiwanese golf, overcame a double bogey on No. 8 with a remarkable back-nine response, draining three birdies to shoot 68 and finish regulation at 14-under 202.
That proved just enough to force a three-way playoff with local amateur Jie-En Lin and Korean SeulGi Geong, who also finished at 202 after closing with rounds of 63 and 68, respectively.
Lin failed to match Hou and Geong’s birdies on No. 18 and bowing out of the title race.
Geong appeared to have a chance to seize control, standing just 12 feet from the hole, but the pressure of the moment proved unforgiving. She three-putted, turning what had been a title opportunity into a costly collapse.
With the championship suddenly in her hands, the local star calmly stepped up and drained a seven-foot birdie putt to seal the victory.
Thai Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong, who had surged into the lead with a blistering 63 in the second round, finished fourth at 12-under 204.