Bisera finishes strong, ties for 9th

TAICHUNG, Taiwan — Yvon Bisera saved her best for last.

After a costly second round threatened to derail her campaign, the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour star answered with a spirited five-under-par 67 Friday, surging from joint 16th to ninth and finishing as the top Filipino in the Kenda Tires TLPGA Open at the Taichung International Golf Club.

Bisera’s closing flourish gave her a nine-under 207 total in the NT$4-million, 54-hole championship, a co-sanctioned event of the TLPGA and LPGT.

It was exactly the response she had promised after a 73 in the second round erased much of the momentum from her impressive opening 67.

And she wasted little time making good on that vow.

Bisera rattled off three straight birdies from No. 4, then added birdies on Nos. 13 and 17 to complete a gutsy comeback. She had been just one stroke off the lead after the opening round but slipped seven shots behind after her second-round stumble.

The late charge came too late to put her back in title contention, but it gave the ICTSI-backed player a strong finish against a field featuring some of the region’s leading players.

Seoyun Kim emerged as the next-best LPGT player, closing with a bogey-free 68 to tie for 20th at 212. The young Korean made two birdies on each nine and produced clutch scrambling pars to keep her card spotless.

Sarah Ababa shot 72 to share 23rd at 213, while Mafy Singson moved six places up the leaderboard with a closing 69 for a share of 31st at 214.

Singson opened the back nine with a sizzling 33 but wavered late, needing a birdie on No. 8 to salvage a 36 coming home.

Jiwon Lee, the other LPGT mainstay to make the cut, finished with a 72 and shared 49th at 218.

At the top, meanwhile, the championship unfolded into a dramatic all-local showdown.

Taiwanese ace Yu Chiang Hou overcame a double bogey on No. 8 with three birdies on the back nine to card a 68 and finish regulation at 14-under 202.

That was enough to force a three-way playoff with local amateur Jie-En Lin and Korean SeulGi Geong, who also finished at 202 after closing with 63 and 68, respectively.

The playoff quickly became a test of nerve.

Lin was the first to bow out, failing to match Hou and Geong’s birdies on the 18th.

Then the title appeared to be within Geong’s grasp.

Standing just 12 feet from the hole, she had a chance to seize control. Instead, she three-putted, turning a potential winning moment into a costly opening.

Hou pounced.

The Taiwanese star calmly rolled in a seven-foot birdie putt to claim the championship in dramatic fashion.

Thailand’s Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong, who had rocketed into contention with a 63 in the second round, finished fourth at 12-under 204. She remained in the hunt after a 33 on the front nine but stumbled on the way home with three bogeys in her first seven back-nine holes. Her closing birdie salvaged a 71, but it was not enough to force a playoff.

For Bisera, the trophy remained out of reach, but her 67 provided a satisfying ending to a tournament that had appeared to slip away 24 hours earlier.

Sometimes, a comeback does not need to end with a trophy to make a statement.