Malixi slows down with 73

After sizzling in the first two rounds, Rianne Malixi slowed down, firing a one-over par 73 to fall to the fourth spot in the third round of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) Championship on Saturday at the Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand.

The 18-year-old Duke University standout struggled early, going three-over with three bogeys in the first five holes before regaining her rhythm in the back nine to wrap up the third round at nine-under 207 in the leaderboard behind pacesetters Yang Yunseo, Oh Soomin, and Kim Gyu Been of South Korea.

Yang carded an even-par 72 to stay on top with 13-under 203 while Oh and Kim are knotted at the second spot with 11-under 205 entering the final round of this event that offers spots in the AIG Women’s Open, Chevron Championship and the Amundi Evian Championship.

But the door is still open for the Filipina as she can still turn things around by making a rally in the last 18 holes of this elite tourney that could boost her standing in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Malixi will be teeing off in the fourth round with Arianna Lau of Hong Kong and Seo Jin Park of South Korea in the penultimate day on Sunday.

It was truly a tough day for Malixi as she failed to sustain her momentum after firing 68 and 66 in the first two days of action.

Malixi opened her round with a routinary par but struggled with her long game that led to a double bogey on par-5 Hole No. 2. She was able to restore order in the next two holes, but another bogey on par-4 Hole No. 5 shattered her confidence, allowing her to post a three-over 39 in the front nine.

Malixi, however, was able to redeem herself with a birdie on Holes No. 14 and 17, but those were not enough as she still finished the back nine at two-under for a one-over performance in the third round.