Salvador, Sumcad spark big Duel rally

A NEVER-SAY-DIE South crew displayed its individual talent in the singles to overwhelm North, 9-3, yesterday and keep the championship of the local golf tour’s The Duel—North vs South with a come-from-behind 12.5-11.5 victory at Wack Wack’s East course in Mandaluyong.

Given up for lost after yielding the fourball and foursomes matches in the first two days and trailing, 3.5-8.5, the Southerners turned to the power-hitting Orlan Sumcad and the veteran Elmer Salvador to provide the spark for the biggest comeback win in the event’s four-year history.

“We just refused to lose,” said South skipper Jerome Delariarte with Zanieboy Gialon as assistant. “They jumped the gun on us in the first two days but my guys knew how to win.”

The win also made Team South the first back-to-back winner of the local version of the Ryder Cup put up by ICTSI in 2012 to foster camaraderie among the country’s leading players.

Sumcad routed Benjie Magada in the second pairing, 7 and 6, before Salvador capped the victory with the same score over Randy Garalde in the 12th and last match of the finale.

Marvin Dumandan bested Miguel Ochoa, 2-up; Cassius Casas and Clyde Mondilla disposed of Gerald Rosales and Keanu Jahns, respectively, via the same 3-and-1 scores; Rufino Bayron whipped Jun Bernis, 4 and 2; Tony Lascuña nipped Mars Pucay, 2 and 1, and Jay Bayron halted Joenard Rates, 3 and 1, with a 17th-hole birdie.

Those eight wins, coupled with the all-square results by Ferdie Aunzo against James Ryan Lam and Charles Hong against Miguel Tabuena, gave South a whopping nine-point total.

Needing just four wins to reclaim the title they won in 2013, the Northerners posted just three points with only Angelo Que and Michael Bibat delivering the wins. Que downed Arnold Villacencio, 2 and 1, while Bibat pipped Jhonnel Ababa, 1-up.

“The clincher was the half point of Aunzo and Jay Bayron’s win,” said Delariarte. “Everybody played well.”

Aunzo fell behind by two holes after No. 16 but won the last two.