Pagunsan rips Aboitiz field, wins by 8 shots

PAGUNSAN: Confident after 12th hole.

CARMONA, Cavite—Juvic Pagunsan was at his best yesterday and no one even came close to catching him.

The temperamental 37-year-old was near-perfect on a trying day, shooting a bogey-free 6-under-par 65 to win the $100,000 Aboitiz Invitational by a whopping eight shots over a dazed field at Southwoods’ Legends layout here.

Starting the day tied for the lead with Thai Pijit Petchkasem, Pagunsan peeled away early with birdies on four of his last five holes on the front nine and went on to tally a 20-under 264 for his first win in almost three years.

“I am happy because I was able to string together one good week,” Pagunsan, who flies back to Japan next week to resume his campaign in the more lucrative tour there, said in Filipino.

Angelo Que failed to crack par for the first time this week, closing with a 72 that allowed Pijit and another Thai, Nirun Sae-Ueng, to catch him for second at 272.

Pijit, who didn’t drop a shot in the first three rounds, succumbed to final-round pressure and signed for four bogeys against just two birdies in a 73. Nirun carded a 67.

The only time that Pagunsan was in trouble in the final round was when he found the right greenside bunker off the tee on the long par-3 12th. After a poor blast, he found himself with a 15-yard chip shot which he holed to rescue his par.

“I got 100 percent confident that I would win after that shot,” said Pagunsan, also the winning pro in the team that ruled the pro-am together with Aboitiz Equity Ventures president Erramon Aboitiz, who, incidentally, gave him a sponsor’s invite.

Zannie Boy Gialon fired a 68 and Clyde Mondilla a 70 to finish nine strokes behind like Australian Paul Donahoo, who fired a 68, and Japan’s Masaru Takahashi, who assembled a 70.