LPGT’s best set out to end elusive TLPGA crown

A determined 20-player contingent from the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour is gearing up to make history as it sets out to finally capture a long-sought first victory on the Taiwan LPGA Tour (TLPGA).

The Filipinas, along with three Korean LPGT regulars, head into the NT$5 million Party Golfers Ladies Open, unfolding Nov. 19 at the Lily Golf and Country Club in Guanxi Township, Hsinchu, brimming with both confidence and quiet urgency.

At the forefront is Daniella Uy, whose joint fourth-place finish in the 2019 edition remains the best performance by an LPGT campaigner in the event.

She will once again spearhead a deep and battle-tested roster featuring this season’s LPGT leg winners – Chanelle Avaricio, Princess Superal, Mafy Singson and Florence Bisera – all eager to translate local dominance into international triumph.

For the Filipinas, a win on Taiwan soil has been agonizingly close but remains elusive.

Superal tied for 16th in the first co-sanctioned LPGT-TLPGA event in 2018, while Uy’s near-podium finish in 2019 left her just three shots shy of local winner Yu Ling Hsieh.

In more recent editions, Pauline del Rosario carried the Philippine flag with back-to-back top-10 finishes – joint sixth in 2023 and tied for eighth last year.

Yet, the collective sentiment heading into this year’s 54-hole championship is one of renewed belief.

The contingent has honed its competitive edge through a grueling domestic season and a series of international forays, making them more than ready to take on the formidable field of top players and rising stars from Thailand, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and host Taiwan.

Among the most confident is Bisera, who is chasing a second international crown after her stunning breakthrough in Thailand last September – a victory that came right after she ruled the LPGT Negros Occidental leg.

Avaricio, a two-time LPGT champion this year with an additional runner-up finish, also looms as a strong contender, her consistency and composure setting her apart.

Superal and Singson, both tested by stints on the Japan Step Up Tour and China Tour respectively, bring valuable overseas experience that could prove crucial in navigating the pressure and conditions of the TLPGA circuit.

Meanwhile, Harmie Constantino, the dominant force of last year’s LPGT season with four titles and another Order of Merit crown, is out to end her title drought with a breakthrough performance abroad.

Also joining the fray are Lois Kaye Go, Martina Miñoza, Velinda Castil, Gretchen Villacencio, Annika Cedo, Marvi Monsalve and Rev Alcantara, all eager to contribute to a potential milestone moment for Philippine women’s golf.

Completing the Philippine delegation are Kristine Fleetwood, Monica Mandario, Marjorie Pulumbarit, and Jiwon Lee, Eunhua Nam and Seo Yun Kim, who is equally motivated to redeem herself after twice faltering in the final round of LPGT events this year.

With talent, momentum and an unrelenting desire to make history, the LPGT squad enters the Party Golfers Ladies Open not just as participants, but as genuine contenders hungry to carve their names into the TLPGA record books.