Reaching the Summit

What promised to be a tight, high-stakes final round turned into a runaway, then a grind, and finally a nerve-wracking one-stroke escape.

Chanelle Avaricio absorbed Apple Fudolin’s early challenge, unleashed a decisive burst of birdies to pull away from the field, then had to dig deep for a gutsy par on the final hole to hold off a charging Yvon Bisera and capture another Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) title in the ICTSI Summit Point Championship here Thursday.

Playing with the poise of a champion who knew exactly what she wanted, Avaricio built a commanding lead with a blistering front nine, only to see Bisera mount a fierce comeback in the flight ahead. The recent Pradera Verde runaway winner fired a scorching 66 to cut a six-stroke deficit to just one with nine holes left, turning what had looked like a stress-free march to the title into a pressure-packed finish.

Avaricio, however, refused to blink.

She calmly set up a two-putt par on the 18th to finish with a 68 and a four-under 212 total, edging Bisera, who pooled a 213, by a single stroke and frustrating the latter’s bid for a third victory of the season.

The P125,000 triumph was Avaricio’s second of the season after her victory in the wild Pinewoods chase last July, and a fitting piece of redemption for the 27-year-old after she missed the cut in the China LPGA Tour event last week.

It was also especially meaningful on a course she knows intimately and proudly calls home as Summit Point’s golf ambassador.

“I think heading into the final day, I wasn’t really sure if I was going to win. But I just tried to focus on the moment, taking it shot by shot. Then, every shot really mattered — that was all I was thinking about,” Avaricio said.

“Anything can happen here, so I just focused on every shot and tried not to get ahead of myself.”

For much of the final round, there was little indication that Avaricio would need to summon such resolve.

She matched Fudolin’s birdies on Nos. 2 and 3, keeping the one-stroke gap intact and raising hopes of the duel that had been anticipated all week.

But Avaricio quickly stamped her authority on the championship.

Fudolin stumbled with bogeys on Nos. 5 and 7, while Avaricio responded with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 to turn the closing stretch of the front nine into the decisive phase of the title fight.

She made the turn in a sizzling 32, opening a four-shot cushion over Fudolin.

From there, Avaricio appeared headed for cruise control.

The wind that had provided much of the challenge in the first two rounds largely stayed away during the final-round morning, leaving Summit Point’s softened fairways and greens ripe for scoring. Avaricio took full advantage, attacking when opportunities presented themselves and settling for pars when they did not.

Fudolin could not summon another charge, and the rest of the field was left scrambling for second place.

Seoyun Kim, Tiffany Lee, Sarah Ababa, Gretchen Villacencio and Bisera remained in the mix, while Harmie Constantino, who started the day just four shots behind, also failed to make a serious dent in Avaricio’s lead.

The championship appeared settled.

Then Bisera changed the script.

Working from as many as six strokes down with nine holes remaining, Bisera unleashed a scorching backside assault and steadily erased the deficit. By the time she finished with a 66, she had moved within one stroke of Avaricio, who was still playing in the final group.

Suddenly, the runaway had become a race to the finish.

Avaricio admitted that the pressure was most evident on the closing holes.

“It was on the last hole. Honestly, I was playing well in my front nine. But on the back nine, I think I only shot even par. So, I didn’t really want to get ahead and, you know, I just want to finish all 18 holes before, you know, celebrate,” she said when asked when she felt the tournament was truly hers.