JAY BAYRON gunned down eight birdies in an explosive final round yesterday, finishing with a six-under-par 66 for a two-stroke victory over Antonio Lascuña in the P1.5-million ICTSI Summit Point Classic in Lipa City.
Bayron knocked down five of those birdies on his first nine holes to build a good buffer on Lascuña, whose birdie-birdie finish for a 67 wasn’t enough to stop Bayron from ending a two-year victory drought on the local tour.
Counting earlier rounds of 65, 67 and 67, Bayron tallied a 23-under 265, easily the lowest winning score on tour this season, as the talented field had a heyday battering the unique Robert Trent Jones Jr. gem.
Lascuña finished with 267, eight strokes clear of Miguel Tabuena, who also closed with a 67, with Jonel Ababa and Elmer Salvador another shot adrift at 276 after a 74 and 72, respectively.
Korean Park Jun-hyeok was the only foreigner to finish in the top 10, his final-round 73 giving him 278 and a tie with Cassius Casas who carded a 70 and Rufino Bayron, the champion’s younger brother, who fired a 74.
“I am very happy,” Bayron said in Filipino as he snapped that long spell at the expense of the reigning three-time Order of Merit winner Lascuña, a fellow Davao native.
“This is special because I was able to finally beat Tony (in the final round).”
Bayron birdied all three of the par-5s in the front nine for a 32 and held sway the rest of the way.
He was five strokes ahead of Lascuña when he dropped his second shot in the round on the par-4 16th. But not even consecutive birdies by the dusky Lascuña could stop him from returning to the winner’s circle.
“I just couldn’t hole the putts I needed in the front nine,” Lascuña said in Filipino. “Congratulations to Jay because he was never rattled the whole round.” Musong R. Castillo