INQUIRER Sports

BINANGONAN, Rizal – There was no folding up for Elmer Salvador this time.

The stocky long-hitter drained a 24-foot putt for par to nip veteran international campaigner Danny Zarate in sudden death playoff Friday to claim the first Saving Laguna Lake Pro-Am Invitational at the rolling Eastridge Golf Club course here.

It was the type of finish that Salvador never had any luck in having in the past, but one which he finally savored for just the fourth victory in a long career that started in the tough Apo course in Davao.

The 39-year-old, whose biggest final-round collapse came in the rich The Country Club Invitational in Laguna last year, returned the day’s best score of four-under-par 68 for a 36-hole 141 total at the challenging Eastridge here.

The dusky Zarate had held the solo clubhouse lead after shooting a 70 in a much earlier flight.

Overnight leader Ferdie Aunzo, who honed his game over this rolling course while working as a caddy, blew up with a back nine 40 and signed for a 73 to finish tied for third at 143 along with former RP Open champion Cassius Casas and fellow rookie pro Anthony Fernando.

Casas fired a 72, while Fernando cracked par with a 71.

It was a sorry finish for the sweet-swinging Aunzo, the former RP Amateur ace who was chasing a second straight victory just two weeks after scoring his breakthrough triumph as a pro in the ICTSI circuit at Northwoods in Bulacan.

After scorching his first nine holes with a 33, Aunzo found trouble coming home in an unexpected collapse that paved the way for a sudden death finish.

Mike Bibat finished solo sixth with a 70-144 but claimed the pro-am title in partnership with Korean Park Jung-soo. With a net of 286, they wound up four shots ahead of Casas and Tonlits Asistio and three ahead of Fernando and Dino Villanueva.

Ed Manda, chief organizer of the event and general manager of the Laguna Lake Development Authority, said that they could look forward to more fund-generating projects with the success of the pro-am.