Despite the wet conditions, Fortuna showcased consistent play from tee to green, winning three holes from No. 5 to dominate their frontside battle. She kept her momentum even after the rain had subsided, claiming the first three holes at the back en route to a victory that highlighted a series of dominant wins.
Duque, who had bested three pros, including Florence Bisera, Apple Fudolin and Gretchen Villacencio, to earn a shot at the championship, found herself unable to gain any ground against Fortuna’s superb all-around game during their abbreviated match.
“It’s so special, this being my first pro win,” said Fortuna. “I just feel happy, I don’t know how to put into words what I’m feeling right now.”
This week also marked a significant achievement for the 23-year-old Fortuna, whose victory worth P280,000 helped erase the memory of at least three previous unsuccessful attempts in the regular Ladies Philippine Golf Tour on final round setbacks.
“I think I had three attempts being in contention and finally I got it,” said Fortuna, who stuck to her game plan and stayed focused all week.
“Heading to the finals, knowing I was going to play with Laurea, I just really focused on my game. I knew she can play, she was hitting good. But I just told myself to give more birdie opportunities for me, I think that was the key,” said Fortuna, who drained five birdies in annexing her title romp.
As the last ranked player in a field of 16, her noteworthy 5&3 triumph over the top-seeded and last year’s winner Harmie Constantino hinted at the potential for a breakthrough week for the Univ. of Oklahoma product.
And she did it in dominant fashion, rolling past Korean Seoyun Kim, 5&4, in the quarterfinals then blasting Chihiro Ikeda, 4&3, to roll into the finals of the P1.5 championship which served as the season-ending tournament after the 10-leg LPGT season.
“It’s match play and anything can happen. So I just stayed focused and I’m proud of myself,” added Fortuna.
Despite initial nerves induced by rainy conditions, she exhibited resilience, regaining her confidence over time.
“When it rained, I was pretty nervous but I told myself that ‘I can’t control the weather.’ I had a ‘it is what it is mindset,’” said Fortuna. “This is the condition and I got to play with it. But I needed to focus on one shot at a time. It pretty worked and I’m proud of myself about that.”
While the title duel concluded in one-sided fashion, the battle for third extended to the 18th hole where Ikeda narrowly edged Villacencio, matching the latter’s birdie on No. 17 to preserve a 1-up lead and birdying the last for a 2-up victory.
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