Birdie run gives Lidya her second RI women's amateur open The Jakarta Post, Karawaci, Banten

Defending champion Lidya Ivana Jaya fired five birdies for the lone below par score of the tournament on Thursday to retain her Indonesia Ladies Amateur Open Golf Championship.

The East Javan's one-under 71 at Imperial golf club gave her a 54-hole total of 223, four strokes ahead of national teammate Juriah.

The latter's 75 was enough to overtake second round leader Ana Imelda Tanpinco of the Philippines, who started the final day with a three-stroke lead after an even par round on Wednesday.

"I played better than before, especially on the greens," Lidya, 20, said, referring to the putting problems during the opening rounds of 78 and 74.

The 15-year-old Filipino wilted in the mid-morning heat and under the pressure of the occasion, carding a lackluster 228.

Lidya, Juriah, 23, and Ana will be in the medal hunt at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in the Philippines in November, but the winner put competition aside to congratulate her opponent on solid play.

"I'm glad I won today but I was also happy to see Ana play well in the second round," said Lidya, who received the Srikandi Cup.

Juriah showed some excellent play, notching five birdies, but her threat diminished as she slumped to five bogeys and a double bogey.

Ana admitted she was nervous playing with Lidya and Juriah in the final threesome and that the Banten heat affected her play.

"But I'm quite satisfied," she said, adding that she would be looking for "revenge" at the 23rd SEA Games, where golf will return after being left off the medal roster at the previous Games in Vietnam in 2003.

Risti Yuanda Puteri, despite carding a 10-over 82 for a total of 240, won the net event based on her handicap of eight and was awarded the Kartini Cup.

The two top-place finishers from last week's West Java Ladies Amateur Open, Banten's Jamilah and Singapore's Heng Su-Ann, were unable to repeat their winning form in Karawaci.

Perth-based Heng's 84 was her worst round of the week, putting her in tied seventh place with Puteri. Jamilah, despite playing in her home province, carded 244 for 12th. (004)