Runaway ICTSI PH Open triumph for Mamat

Mardan Mamat of Singapore kisses the green after winning the Phil Open Golf Championship at Wack Wack in Mandaluyong. Photo by ROMY HOMILLADA

MANILA, Philippines—With machine-like efficiency, Mardan Mamat tamed Wack Wack East for the fourth straight day to rule the 96th ICTSI Philippine Open running away Sunday as Filipino teen sensation Miguel Tabuena wilted under numbing pressure and faded out of the fight early.

The ever-smiling 44-year-old Mamat became the first Singaporean to win the Asian Tour’s oldest championship, closing out with a one-under-par 71 for a five-shot win over South Korea’s Mo Joong-kyung.

Starting the day with just a one-shot lead over Tabuena, the seasoned Mamat was unruffled throughout as he put the finishing touches to a wire-to-wire win—his third on the Asian Tour—with a 72-hole 280 total.

“I feel great,” said Mamat, whose last victory came in the Singapore Masters in 2006. “Winning a tournament is always special, but winning one of the oldest (tournaments in the world) is something.”

Mo closed out with a 74 for 285 and finished comfortably in second place as Tabuena ballooned to a triple bogey-marred 81 for 291 that dropped the 17-year-old, two-year-pro to a tie for 11th place.

Mamat, who had earlier rounds of 69, 70 and 70, pocketed $47,550 (P2.07 million) from the $300,000 total pot, while Mo went home with $32,550.

Tabuena’s three bogeys on his first six holes, and a bogey and a double bogey by Mo on his first three cleared the way for Mamat, who turned what was expected to be a tight final round into a walk in the park.

“It may have looked easy, but it wasn’t,” said Mamat, a former caddie. “I just told myself to hit the fairways and greens and to not do any big numbers and I would be all right.”

“I also felt the pressure early. But after the eighth hole, I was pretty much comfortable, though I didn’t take things easy,” added Mamat, whose Singapore Masters triumph also came in wire-to-wire style.

Mamat later broke down while being interviewed, saying he would have turned to coaching had wife Naz not insisted that he keep on playing.

The eighth hole, the par-3 “Camel Back,” had been the bane of many in the field, but not for Mamat, who scored pars there all four days, counting one in the third round when he drained a curling 20-footer to save his 3.

Best Filipino finisher
With Tabuena fading, Antonio Lascuña took the fight for the outclassed Filipino contingent, shooting a 69 to finish in a third-place tie with Japan’s Azuma Yano at 287.

Yano, who had a piecde of the first-round lead, closed with a 70. They won $16,545 each.

After rolling in what looked like a four-inch putt for his only bogey of the round on the 18th, Mamat went down on his knees and touched the green with his forehead.

Ben Fox of the United States was alone in fifth at 288 after a level 72, with Australia’s Adam Blyth and Paul Donahoo tying at 289 after rounds of 71 and 72, respectively.

No other Filipino finished in the Top 10 as Angelo Que, the 2008 winner, fell a tad short with his second straight 71, giving him a tie with Tabuena and four foreigners that included 1999 champion and first-round co-leader Anthony Kang of the United States.

“There’s always next year,” said Tabuena, who was man enough to admit crumbling to the final-day pressure. “After a bogey on my first hole, my confidence level wasn’t the same.”

Tabuena, who fired a tournament-best 67 in the third round, made the turn at 39 and trailed by five. But he totally went undone on the 10th where he signed for a triple bogey 7 after driving into the woods, missing the green after playing out and three-putting.

“He’s going to be a great player someday,” Mamat said of the prodigious Filipino.

“Miguel is a nice boy with a nice potential for Asian golf. At 17, he has a lot of time to improve. Miguel has a very good attitude and I am looking forward for him to succeed.”