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GEN. TRIAS, Cavite – The Ladies Philippine Golf Tour unfolded with a surprising turn of events as Gretchen Villacencio defied brutal playing conditions to seize a three-stroke lead with a 75 at the start of the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Championship at the wind-swept Faldo course here on Monday.
With strong gusts creating chaos on the field and the unpredictable surface adding to the challenge, Villacencio, still in search of a breakthrough victory in a seven-year pro career, showed remarkable composure to emerge atop the leaderboard. Her three-over-par round, marked by three birdies against six bogeys, kept her steady as most of the field crumbled under the unrelenting conditions.
Villacencio did face headwinds on her inward nine, dropping four shots in the first seven holes. However, she came through with a clutch birdie from 21 feet on the 18th to salvage a 36-39 round — enough to give her a three-stroke cushion in the P750,000 championship put up by ICTSI.
“It’s really unexpected,” said Villacencio in Filipino, who found herself leading despite not setting high expectations for the round. “I really didn’t expect to lead today, but I was just really lucky. God was with me all throughout.”
She particularly pointed to two pivotal holes — a chip-in birdie on No. 4 and a stunning birdie conversion from long range on the 18th — that allowed her to stay ahead of the field.
“My only goal was to make the cut because the conditions were so tough. The wind was extremely strong, and we couldn’t gauge how much club adjustment was needed. Sometimes the wind would suddenly die down, and the next moment it would blow so hard,” rued Villacencio, who tied for 15th at Pradera Verde two weeks ago.
Multi-titled Sarah Ababa and rising star Kayla Nocum both carded identical 78s after likewise struggling in the swirling winds.
Seoyun Kim, who finished joint runner-up to absent Samantha Bruce at Pradera, skied to a birdie-less 79 but still shared fourth place with Mikha Fortuna, who briefly sparked hopes with back-to-back birdies from No. 4 only to get derailed by four consecutive bogeys from No. 6.
Chanelle Avaricio, still in search of the form that earned her multiple LPGT victories in 2022, stumbled to an 80 without a single birdie and settled for a share of sixth with Florence Bisera, Chihiro Ikeda, Tiffany Lee and Mafy Singson.
Annika Cedo and Eun Hua Nam turned in identical 81s, while LK Go and Marvi Monsalve posted similar 82s.
Meanwhile, the group of Pamela Mariano, Laurea Duque, Min Yeong Kim, Sunshine Baraquiel, and Velinda Castil carded similar 83s, while last year’s four-leg winner and reigning Order of Merit winner Harmie Constantino, along with Rev Alcantara, Apple Fudolin and Monica Mandario bore the brunt of the day's harsh conditions as they finished with identical 85s and missed the first round cut at 83.
Others who failed to advance early were Kristine Fleetwood (86), Martina Miñoza (87), Lucy Landicho (89) and amateur Juliane Gaerlan (93).
Despite carrying a three-shot advantage, Villacencio refused to get ahead of herself, insisting she would still need another round of pure grit — and perhaps a touch of fortune — to finally secure her elusive first win.
“Honestly, I’m just hoping to sustain this momentum. I just need to stay focused and keep my game steady,” said Villacencio, whose only taste of LPGT glory came last year as a runner-up to junior standout Yunju An at Forest Hills.
With the winds forecast to persist over the next few days, the race for the ICTSI Eagle Ridge crown remains wide open — though Villacencio now finds herself in a favorable position to turn a lucky day into a long-awaited breakthrough.
