(UPDATE) RIANNE Malixi wobbled a bit at resumption of the exacting 36-hole duel and lost whatever rhythm and momentum she had gained in a brave morning stand, yielding a 1-up result — and the championship — to Kiara Romero of the US in the US Girls' Junior final at the Eisenhower Golf Club's Blue course in Colorado Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

Malixi was in control at the onset, winning the first hole on a Romero mishap and stayed in command until the 22nd hole when she made a bogey on the par-4 No. 4. She was impressive on the military layout's par-3s all week but a bogey on No. 13, the 31st hole, enabled her third-seeded rival to seize the lead for only the second time with five to play.