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SANTA ROSA, Laguna: Ryu So Yeon shot a three-under
par 69 and Choi He Yong turned in a 70 to boost Korea to a
five-under card and a one-shot shot lead over Australia in the team
competition after 18 holes of the 29th Queen Sirikit Cup at The
Country Club here.
Ryu birdied two of her first four
holes in the back side and two of her last three, while Choi had
four birdies against two bogeys as the Koreans totaled 139 to pace
the Aussies by one and host the Philippines by four.
Regina de Guzman spearheaded the
local charge with a 71 and teen wonder Dottie Ardina added a 72 for
a 143 Philippine tally. Crystal Superal struggled all day and could
do no better than an 84 that did not count.
A total of 14 countries, led by
defending champion Chinese-Taipei, are represented in the 54-hole
team tournament where each country fields in a squad of three with
the top two scores counting.
Stephanie Na matched Ryu’s 69
to pace the Aussies, whose second best scorer was Emma Bennet, who
tallied a 71. Young Kim Sel’s 77 for Korea and Kristie Smith’s
85 for Australia both failed to count for their respective sides.
Dasom Lee shot a 70 and Penny
Newbrook signed for a 74 to give New Zealand, the runner-up last
year, a level 144 card and solo fourth place, a stroke behind the
Filipinos and five ahead of a surprisingly faltering Thailand team.
The Thais were led by Thidapa
Suwannapura’s 71, but reigning RP Ladies’ champion Yupaporn
Kawinpakorn limped home with a 78 that counted as the Thais found
themselves 10 strokes off the pace going into the final two rounds.
The Taiwanese tallied 153 for the
first round after Yeh Ko-Chen’s 76 and Hsieh Yu-Ling counted. Lin
Tzu-Chi’s 88 was discarded.
Ryu and Na shared the opening
round lead in individual play, with Lee in second together with Choi
before de Guzman led two others in a share of fifth spot.
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