MIAOLI COUNTRY, Taiwan —Pauline del Rosario recovered late to salvage a 72 and trail a hot-finishing Hsiao-Ling Wu by five while the rest of the Filipina bidders struggled in the first round of the Party Ladies Golfers Open at the National Golf and Country Club here yesterday.

Chasing her second LPGA Tour of Taiwan (TLPGA) crown in three years, Del Rosario failed to get going tackling the up-and-down layout for the first time, bogeying Nos. 4 and 14 while flubbing a couple of birdie chances.

But she finally found her rhythm and touch at the finish, birdying the last two to save a 37-35 for joint 15th in the $100,000 championship co-sanctioned by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. for the second straight year.

Daniella Uy, who ended up tied at 45th here in the first Ladies PGT event held overseas last year, rebounded from a double-bogey miscue on No. 6 with back-to-back birdies from No. 12. But she wavered at the finish, dropping strokes on two of the last three holes to settle for a 74.

Cyna Rodriguez also failed to bounce back from a 39 start and turned in a 76 while rookie pro Chanelle Avaricio blew an early one-under par card with two bogeys at the front and failed to break a bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie run at the back with three bogeys in the last four to drop to joint 55th with Rodriguez six others.