Philippines Golf Academy

The final result of the ICTSI Negros Occidental was a complete surprise.

After Juvic Pagunsan birdied 3 of his first 4 holes in the final round, everyone thought that this would be another routine march to victory. But the golf gods had other plans. Bogeys on numbers 6 and 8 cut his lead over veteran Robert Pactolerin and Tony Lascuña and a double bogey on 11 and another bogey on 12 dropped him back into a tie with the two veterans. Yet another bogey on 16 knocked him out of the lead for good and in spite of his best efforts he never recovered.

Juvic Pagunsan blasts out of the bunker on 18

His opponents, Pactolerin and Lascuña played steady golf to finish tied for the lead at 5-under par for the tournament. Lascuña lost a stroke to par on the final day but had enough of a cushion to back into a playoff with Pactolerin who played his round of the tournament, a well-crafted 67, on the last day.

The two vets went back to the 18th tee for the playoff. On the first playoff hole, Lascuña pulled his second shot just past the trees between the first and eighteenth fairways. Pactolerin hit the green with his second shot and Lascuña was fortunate to clear the trees and reach the front of the green. Pactolerin missed his birdie putt while Lascuña pulled off a great up and down for par to extend the playoff.

Tony Lascuña gets up and down to extend the playoff

On the second playoff hole, Pactolerin pulled his approach to the green into the greenside bunker as Lascuña hit the green. Pactolerin executed a superb blast out of the bunker to save par and Lascuña just missed his birdie putt to extend the playoff a second time.

On the third hole both protagonists found the green and both made birdie. So back up eighteen they went for yet another playoff hole.

Robert Pactolerin celebrates a final birdie on 18 for the win

On the fourth playoff hole, both again found the green in regulation. Lascuña was pin high, just left of the pin and Pactolerin was dead online but below the cup and slightly further away. Pactolerin was first away and after he hit his putt, he raised his arms in jubilation well before the ball dropped, knowing he had made birdie. The crowd erupted but Lascuña still had a chance to extend the playoff further. He was close, but his putt narrowly missed the cup handing Pactolerin the win; his second on the Philippine Golf Tour.

Notes:

Robert Pactolerin came from 7 shots back at the start of the final day’s play to win the 2011 ICTSI Negros Occidental Championship at Marapara. This was deja vu for the veteran from nearby Victorias, Negros Occidental. He had overcome a 7-shot deficit before on this very course against George Olaybar in the old Philip Morris Tour more than a decade ago. What can we say? The man’s got heart.

For Tony Lascuña, this makes the third time on the Philippine Golf Tour that he’s lost in a playoff. The first was a 3-hole playoff with Jay Bayron and Benjie Magada at The Orchard last year. Bayron dropped out after the first playoff hole and Magada eventually won after Lascuña’s second shot to the par 5 finishing hole on the Player Course clipped the mango tree in the center of the fairway. The second was a 2-hole playoff at Royal Northwoods earlier this year against Marvin Dumandan. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Lascuña will eventually win on this Tour. He’s just too good not to.

The winning score at Marapara was 5-under par. Most people thought that it would be much lower since the course is relatively short for the men on the Philippine Golf Tour. After all the winning score at a championship layout like The Orchard’s Palmer Course was 12-under par. But Marapara has a superb defense against low scores; its grainy Zoysia greens. Large and with few undulations, the greens have some wicked breaks to them which few of the pros were able to divine on their own. Little wonder then that the Negrenses on the tour enjoyed a distinct advantage here.

Next week the tour visits Iloilo Golf and Country Club in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo; the oldest golf course in the country. See you all there!

1 PACTOLERIN, ROBERT 69 69 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 4 33 3 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 5 34 67 205 -5 Won in playoff
1 LASCUÑA, TONY 67 67 4 6 3 4 6 5 4 3 3 38 3 4 4 2 4 4 3 4 5 33 71 205 -5
3 FERNANDO, MHARK 70 66 5 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 36 4 4 3 3 5 4 3 3 5 34 70 206 -4
3 PAGUNSAN, JUVIC 66 67 4 4 2 4 3 5 4 4 4 34 4 6 5 3 4 4 4 4 5 39 73 206 -4
5 ARDIMER, RODULFO 71 72 4 4 2 4 4 3 5 3 3 32 3 4 4 2 4 5 3 4 5 34 66 209 -1
5 DUMANDAN, MARVIN 71 70 3 5 3 5 4 4 4 3 4 35 4 4 3 3 3 5 3 3 5 33 68 209 -1
7 BERNIS, ROBERTO, JR. 75 66 5 4 3 3 5 3 4 3 4 34 3 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 5 35 69 210 0
8 SALVADOR, ELMER 71 71 4 4 3 3 4 3 4 4 4 33 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 5 5 36 69 211 1
8 SINFUEGO, RICHARD 71 69 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 37 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 4 5 34 71 211 1
10 SANTOS-OCAMPO, CARL 70 72 4 5 3 4 4 5 4 5 4 38 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 5 32 70 212 2
10 MURAKAMI, ARTEMIO 72 69 6 6 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 37 3 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 34 71 212 2
12 GARALDE, RANDY 75 68 3 5 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 34 3 5 4 4 4 3 3 5 5 36 70 213 3
12 ORTEGA, RAMONITO 70 72 4 4 4 4 3 3 5 3 4 34 4 4 4 3 5 4 3 5 5 37 71 213 3
14 GIALON, ZANIEBOY (AM) 73 72 4 4 3 3 4 3 5 3 4 33 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 36 69 214 4
14 AUNZO, FERDINAND 71 72 3 5 4 4 5 4 4 3 3 35 4 5 3 3 5 4 3 4 5 36 71 214

Read the whole story on:http://pinoygolfer.com

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