LJ Go celebrates his coming as a winning pro in the ICTSI Palos Verdes Championship. —PGT PHOTO
Admitting to being nervous while protecting a huge lead, LJ Go held it together just enough on Friday to win for the first time in six years as a professional, with a four-stroke victory in the ICTSI Palos Verdes Championship making him “an accomplished pro.”
“I was really nervous. Even though I had a big lead, I couldn’t execute my shots. But I just hung in there,” said Go, who closed out with a two-over-par 74 to rule the P2 million tournament in Davao. “There was pressure but whenever I was out of position, I didn’t force it.”
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Starting the day with an imposing eight-shot lead, Go dropped four shots in a five-hole span and needed a birdie on the par-3 17th to seal the deal and put an end to a long wait that started when he graduated from Seton Hall in the United States in 2018.
Over the hump
“I’ve been playing for so many years and haven’t won,” said Go, whose national amateur win had Seton Hall recruiters knocking. “But I finally broke the barrier and I’m really happy. Now, I can say that I’m an accomplished pro.”
Go tallied a 72-hole 276, beating Michael Bibat and Guido van der Valk of The Netherlands by four as Bibat signed for a 66 and the Dutchman a flawless 65 under scorching heat at the well-manicured layout in Davao.
READ: Go siblings go different ways as LJ nears men’s title
More than anything, the victory put belief in Go, who blew several 54-hole leads in the Philippine Golf Tour and two in the Asian Development Tour in September 2022. He led in the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur in Indonesia and then lost in the BRG Open in Vietnam.
Go also sends himself off well, as he takes his act to the Abema Tour, the Japan Golf Tour’s farm league.
“That’s where I’m focusing on, together with the PGT, this year,” said Go, who is set to compete in the kickoff leg of the 12-stage circuit in Novil Cup slated April 3-5 at the J. Classic Golf Club in Tokushima Prefecture.