Constantino charges back from three down to cop Caliraya title

Harmie Constantino. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Harmie Constantino again came up with her flair for the dramatic, gate-crashing what was supposed to be a final round showdown between long-time rivals to win the ICTSI Caliraya Springs Championship in come-from-behind style.

Carving out a three-under-par 69, Constantino erased a three-stroke overnight deficit to joint leaders Pauline del Rosario and Princess Superal, with a 214, 54-hole tally giving her a two-shot win that came in the same manner she won at Palos Verdes three weeks ago.

“It just happened,” Constantino, who won in Davao by overhauling a five-shot deficit in the final round, said. “There’s no particular approach to it. Ideally, I’d like to lead [after] every round. The key is just stay in the moment and play my best.”

Del Rosario was seeking to repeat, but four bogeys in an eight-hole stretch from No. 6 doomed her to a closing 74 for 216, while Superal had six bogeys in a 75 that dragged her down to a fourth place tie with Chanelle Avaricio, who closed out with a 71, for 217.

It was the eighth win in a four-year career for Constantino.

Meanwhile, Clyde Mondilla wrested the lead in the P2.5 million, 72-hole men’s division after shooting a day-best 67 for 208 heading into Friday’s final round.

Mondilla cracked par for the third straight round and takes a one-shot lead over Keanu Jahns, who shot a 68. A quartet that includes Aidric Chan (73), South Korea’s Tae Soo-kim (69) and defending champion Antonio Lascuña, who fired a 70, lurks five back.