PHNOM PENH—The Philippines went without a medal in the individual event of the golf competitions for the second straight edition of the Southeast Asian Games, with Rianne Malixi ending up tied for fourth in women’s play and Enrique Dimayuga finishing joint fifth in the men’s side here Wednesday.
Thailand’s rising star, Eila Galitsky, lived up to the hype and bagged the women’s gold with a solid closing five-under 67 as she wrapped up the 54-hole tournament with a 14-under 202, edging Malaysia’s Ng Jing Xuen by one at the Garden City course.
Xuen actually stayed just a stroke adrift of Galitsky by matching the latter’s backside 33 then bounced back from a miscue on No. 4 with three birdies in the next four holes to remain in the gold medal hunt. But she flubbed her birdie bid on the last hole and Galitsky matched her closing par to clinch the victory.
Galitsky added the SEA Games gold to her title romp in the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Championship in Singapore last March, with the 16-year-old star, who holds dual nationality of Thailand and Canada and billed as the next Atthaya Thitikul, a former world No. 1, coming into this week’s event brimming with confidence following an impressive tied for 28th finish in the LPGA Tour’s first major – the Chevron Championship in Texas last month.
Xuen also shot a 67 for silver on a 203 total while Foong Zi Yu, also from Malaysia, captured the bronze with a 208 aggregate, also after a 67 in sweltering conditions.
Malixi, at joint fifth seven shots off Galitsky after 36 holes, failed to get going with a one-birdie, one-bogey round at the back but the ICTSI-backed shotmaker birdied Nos. 3, 5 and 8 to fashion out a 69 for joint fourth at 211 with Thai Navaporn Soontreeyapas, who also closed out with a three-under card.
Lois Kaye Go carded a 71 for solo sixth at 213 while Mafy Singson shot a 77 and finished 18th in a field of 21 with a 228 total.
But Thai sensation Ratchanon Chantananuwat failed to complete their sweep of the individual golds in his side of the battle as he bogeyed the last two holes for a 73 and dropped to joint fifth instead at 209 with compatriot Arsit Areephun, who fought back with a 67, and Dimayuga, who also rallied with a bogey-free 68.
That left Malaysia’s Malcolm Hung and Anson Xiang and Vietnam’s duo of Khank Hung Le and Anh Minh Nguyen to dispute the hotly-disputed gold in a playoff, being held at press time, after the four all finished with nine-under 207s.
Hung and Xiang closed out with 70 and 71, respectively, while erstwhile solo leader Le fumbled with a 73 and Nguyen charged home with a 68, missing clinching the gold outright with a last-hole bogey.
Aidric Chan shot a 69 and tied for 13th at 213, Jaden Dumdumaya carded a 70 for a share of 17th at 216, while Paolo Wong matched par 72 for tied 19th at 218.
The hunt for the team gold resumes Thursday with competitions shifting from stroke play to match.
Malixi chipped in for birdie on the fourth playoff hole to nip Singapore’s Suanne Loh and snare the team bronze in the last SEA Games in Vietnam.
The women’s team swept the gold medals in the Manila SEA Games at Luisita in 2019.