Del Rosario’s late birdie-blitz sparks Top-10 Epson Tour finish

MANILA, Philippines — Pauline del Rosario delivered one of her most explosive finishes in five years on the Epson Tour, unleashing a four-birdie blitz down the stretch to fire a six-under 65 and salvage a joint ninth-place finish in the Atlantic Beach Classic in Atlantic Beach, Florida over the weekend.

Although Del Rosario ended up seven strokes behind Mexico’s Isabella Fierro, her fiery closing round provided a strong indication that the Filipina ace is regaining form after an underwhelming campaign last year while working through a swing change and other concerns.

Her strong finish in Florida should serve as a timely confidence boost as the ICTSI-backed shotmaker continues her campaign on the LPGA’s developmental circuit.

Del Rosario opened with a roller-coaster 69 that featured seven birdies against five bogeys at the par-71 Atlantic Beach Country Club, but she struggled to maintain momentum in the second round, fumbling with a 73.

Entering the final round of the 54-hole, $200,000 tournament, however, she regained her rhythm.

Despite a bogey on No. 3, Del Rosario responded with a birdie and then strung together back-to-back birdies from No. 6 to steady her game.

Banking on her power off the tee, the first and only Filipina to win on the Taiwan LPGA Tour dominated the par-5 10th before recovering from a setback on No. 13 with a spectacular run of four straight birdies starting at No. 14.

She nearly finished with an even lower score but missed a birdie opportunity on the par-5 No. 18.

Still, her final-round 65 gave her a six-under 207 aggregate and a Top 10 finish that should provide momentum heading into a busy stretch of tournaments.

Del Rosario next heads to the IOA Golf Classic in Longwood, Florida, which begins Friday, before the tour moves to Lakeland, Florida for the Orlando Health Championship from March 20 to 22.

Fellow ICTSI campaigner Dottie Ardina also rallied with a final-round 67 but finished tied for 29th at 212, while Filipino-American Clariss Guce ended up tied for 37th at 213 after a closing 70.

Meanwhile, Fierro pulled away for the title with a 67 to finish at 13-under 200, defeating Kaitlyn Budde and Annabelle Pancake-Webb by four strokes after the Americans posted rounds of 69 and 72, respectively, for identical 204 totals.