TASK FORCE THAILAND
JUNIA Gabasa takes a groupfie with teammates Rianne Malixi and Grace Quintanilla during practice round Tuesday in the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Championship in Pattaya. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF NGAP/IG
It's going to be a busy week for Filipino golfers. They will be seeing action in two simultaneous tournaments. Both in Thailand.
Sixteen-year-old hotshot Rianne Malixi will banner the team to the Women's Amateur Asia Pacific Championship which won't only feature the best in the region but also dangles berths in the LPGA major tournaments.
Joining her are Junia Gabasa, Grace Quintanilla, Ally Gaccion, Anya Cedo and Nicole Abelar in the meet slated 1 to 4 February at the Siam Country Club in Pattaya.
National Golf Association of the Philippines executive director Myka Romulo will accompany the young team — some of them, like Malixi, are still competing in the junior tournaments.
Malixi, who finished third in the meet last year, is expected to strut her wares against World No. 4 Minsol Kim of South Korea and India's Queen Sirikit Cup titleholder Avani Prashanth.
They slug it out at 8:03 a.m. at the backside of the par-72 layout in one of the top match-ups in the opener of the sixth edition of the 72-hole championship.
Cedo drew an early tee-time at 7:41 a.m. on No. 1 with India's Heena Kang and Thai Navaporn Soontreeyapas, while Gaccion, a grand finalist in the inaugural Junior Philippine Golf Tour last year, also tees off on the first hole in an 8:03 a.m. flight with Hong Kong's Siuue Wu and Mannat Brar, also from India.
Abelar is paired with Thai Suvichaya Vinijchaitham and Sania Wahyudi of Indonesia at 11:30 a.m. on No. 10; Gabasa also starts at the backside against Kiwi Mimi Guo and Singapore's Xingtong Chen at 12:03 p.m.; while Quintanilla hopes to buck the odds in the 12:25 p.m. flight that includes Daniah Syed of Pakistan and Jillian Kuk of Singapore on No. 10.
But all eyes will be on Malixi, who scored a breakthrough win in the Australian Master of the Amateurs Championship last month. She also rallied to tie for eighth in the Australian Amateur.
And while that is going on, the country is sending a big delegation for the Asian Junior Masters which runs 2 to 4 February at the Black Mountain Golf Club in Hua Hin.