Lascuña captures Masters crown

Antonio Lascuña/ INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Tony Lascuña wouldn’t let a golden chance go to waste.

Flashing grit under pressure, Lascuña canned an uphill 14-footer for a closing birdie that thwarted Jay Bayron’s determined bid for the ICTSI Manila Masters crown at Eastridge Golf Club in Binangonan, Rizal.

Lascuña closed out with a two-under-par 70 to nip Bayron, who settled for a 71, by one shot and end years of frustration at the up-and-down layout.

Both three shots off Guido Van der Valk at the start of the day, Lascuña and Bayron pounced on the Dutchman’s early meltdown to wage a one-on-one tussle for the P550,000 top purse.

Counting his earlier rounds of 69-70-76, the 46-year-old Lascuña pooled a three-under 285. Bayron tallied 72-72-71 in the first three days.

Lascuña went three up with two holes to go but bogeyed No. 17, which Bayron birdied, paving the way for a shootout at the par-5 18th.

Bayron closed out with a tap-in birdie and braced for a playoff after Lascuna’s pitch from 40 yards stopped 14 feet short of the cup.

But the reigning Order of Merit champion nailed the putt, showing the form that won him five titles last year.

“I really wanted this one very badly since I’ve never won here at Eastridge for years,” said Lascuña.

Bayron, who also won two titles in last year’s circuit sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., actually rebounded from a triple-bogey 7 on No. 9 with three birdies on the last four holes.

He settled for P370,000.