Malixi coasts to match play phase, but Quintanilla falls

Rianne Malixi cruised to the knockout stage at joint 24th with three others after a 73 but Grace Quintanilla failed to sustain a fine 71 start and limped out of the match play stage with an 85 in the US Girls' Junior at the Eisenhower Golf Club's Blue course in Colorado Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

Defending champion Yana Wilson of the US took the medal honors with a 68 spiked by a four-birdie binge from No. 12 as she assembled a six-under 138 to gain the top seeding when play shifts from stroke to match starting Wednesday.

Rianne Malixi CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Joint first day leaders Anna Davis and Kiara Romero finished the 36-hole stroke play elims with 139 and 140 after a 71 and 72, respectively, while Canadian Anna Huang fired a 68 to join Thai Tarapath Panya and Chinese Kaili Xiao, who matched 73s, at fourth at 142.

Malixi, 16, took the No. 24 ranking after the tiebreak with the ICTSI-backed shotmaker setting up a clash with Ryan Flynn of California, who wound up No. 41 with a 150 after a 74, at 9:03 a.m.

Wilson tangles with No. 64 Ashley Kim from Korea at 8 a.m., while No. 2 Davis drew Thai Thanana Kotchasanmanee in the 10:24 a.m. duel, and third seed Kiara Romero collides with fellow American Claire Wan at 11:36 a.m.

Starting the round at tied 31st after a 74 Tuesday, Malixi cashed in on an early start and birdied three of the first four holes to move up the standings. But the multi-titled Ladies Philippine Golf Tour campaigner lost her rhythm and putting touch midway through, missing a par-putt bid on the ninth and yielding another stroke on No. 10.

After hitting a solid tee-shot to within six feet and making the putt for birdie on the par-3 13th, she flubbed another short downhill birdie putt on the next, missed her drive and the green on No. 15 and made another bogey, then came up short on the long par-5 564-yard 16th that led to another bogey.

She also missed the 201-yard par-3 17th, chipped past the hole and ended up with a third straight bogey before holing out with a par for a 34-39 and a 147.

Meanwhile, Quintanilla, whose superb 71 netted her a joint 11th start, failed to get going in a late tee-off, giving up a stroke on No. 10 where she started and dropping four shots in a row from No. 12.

Unable to regain her bearing, she made a triple bogey on No. 17 and holed out with a double bogey on the next for a 46 and tumbled down the leaderboard. She bogeyed the first two holes at the front then finally hit a birdie on No. 4, only to give up two strokes on the par-5 fifth.

The Cebuana shotmaker parred the last four holes for a 39 but her 85 and a 156 was five strokes behind the cutoff score.

US-based Stevie Umali, the other Filipina bet in the fold, hardly recovered from a first round 85 with an 82 and wound up with a 167.