Harmie Constantino’s spirited comeback bid came undone with a costly mistake on the final hole as she hobbled with a 74 and all but dropped out of title contention in the Chonburi Ladies Championship at the Treasure Hill Golf Club in Chonburi, Thailand on Thursday.
Battling difficult scoring conditions, Constantino fought back after slipping to three-over for the round, sparking hopes of a strong finish with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17. But she failed to get up-and-down on the closing par-4 18th, settling for a 38-36 card.
Counting her opening-round 72, the Filipina standout fell from a share of 25th to a tie for 34th at 146, nine strokes behind Thailand’s Pattharat Rattanawan.
Rattanawan also struggled but rescued a 73 to retain the lead at 137.
Onkanok Soisuwan, a former Ladies Philippine Golf Tour winner, emerged as Rattanawan’s closest challenger after firing a 69 to pull within, 138, while Navaporn Soontreeyapas and amateur Chonpansa Tawinsang stood another shot back at 139 after rounds of 70 and 73, respectively, setting up a wide-open battle for the championship in the final round.
Constantino looked poised to make a move after birdieing the par-4 second, but her momentum quickly faded as she bogeyed Nos. 3, 5 and 8 after a series of errant shots and missed birdie opportunities.
Another bogey on the 10th pushed her further down the leaderboard. Although she responded with a birdie on the next, she gave the stroke back immediately with another bogey on No. 12.
After three straight pars, Constantino, a multi-title campaigner on the LPGT, reignited her charge with consecutive birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, only to see her rally end with a costly closing bogey.
Meanwhile, Tiffany Lee survived the cut on the number despite a 76, finishing at 151 to tie for 61st heading into the final round of the THB1.5 million championship.