Mondilla eyes 2nd straight ICTSI crown

CLYDE Mondilla hopes to close out the 2014 ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour season in style as he guns for a second straight championship in the P3.5 million ICTSI Tournament Players’ Championship unfolding Tuesday at Southlinks Golf Club in Las Piñas.

Riding the crest of his breakthrough victory in Canlubang last month, the young Del Monte ace exudes confidence as he sets out against the very same field he dominated with a solid final round of 69 that netted him a four-stroke victory over fancied Cassius Casas and three others at Cangolf.

“I just hope this (win) is the start of something big for me,” said the 20-year-old Mondilla, the former national champion who showed a lot of promise when he joined the pro ranks in 2012.

The win also moved Mondilla to No. 8 in the ICTSI PGT Order of Merit ranking. Another victory next week, worth a whopping P650,000, could shove him to as high as No. 4 at the close of the 16-stage tour.

But a slew of others will be out to foil his back-to-back title drive and fuel their own bid to improve their respective rankings with Casas, winner at ICTSI Iloilo, raring to get back at Mondilla and nail a second leg win on the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.

Casas is actually eyeing a third win this year and seeking to close out the season the way he opened it after topping the rich The Country Club Invitational last February.