ANTONIO Lascuña put an exclamation point to a dominant season yesterday by nipping Elmer Salvador in the first hole of sudden death for the ICTSI Tournament Players Championship title at Wack Wack East in Mandaluyong.
Lascuña rallied from three-down at the start of the day by firing a two-under-par 70 as everything unraveled in two trips on the 18th for Salvador, who couldn’t hang on after bogeys in the 72nd hole and in the playoff.
It was the fifth leg title for Lascuña this season as he put away a fourth Order of Merit title in five years in style, tallying 280 over the heavily-wooded layout with his third sub-par round of the week.
“It was very uncharacteristic for Elmer (Salvador) to hit two straight bad drives,” Lascuña said in Filipino. “I just made the most out of the opportunity that came my way, and it certainly is special to end the season with a win.”
Jessie Balasabas booked the best finish of his pro career by closing out with a 74 to nip Micah Shin and Zannie Boy Gialon by a shot for third at 286.
Shin, the Central Azucarera de Tarlac champion last week, also fired a 74, while Gialon rallied with a 69.
Salvador hit a 3-wood tee shot in the final hole of regulation into very thick rough and couldn’t hit the green from there, failing to save par from 15 feet to settle for second.
Lascuña went for a routine par on the 18th and then again in sudden death when Salvador pulled his tee shot to the right and eventually signed for another bogey.
“I just had some bad bounces come my way [in the last hole],” said Salvador.