ANTONIO Lascuña, bucking nagging back pains, closed out with a flawless three-under-par 69 yesterday to win the ICTSI Calatagan Challenge by four shots over Jonel Ababa at the heavily wooded layout in Batangas.
The expected tight final-round battle with Juvic Pagunsan never happened after Lascuña opened with a birdie that sent him on the way to nines of 33-36 and a 207 total. The win was worth P200,000.
Ababa, who calls the Robert Trent Jones-designed gem home, rallied with a 68 and finished second with a 211 tally, with Mars Pucay shooting a 71 to check in third at 213 like Pagunsan, who closed out with a 73.
“I feel good now although I’m still not 100 percent,” said Lascuña, who won three legs and finished second four times on his way to the ICTSI Order of Merit crown last year, in Filipino.
“I hope to reach peak form in two weeks’ time,” added the former caddy from Davao, who is battling a bad back since last month.
Playing in the flight ahead, Ababa, who lives less than five kilometers from the Calatagan complex, birdied five holes on the back nine and booked his best finish this season, worth P120,000.
Ababa actually birdied the first two holes to move within four of Lascuña before losing ground with bogeys on Nos. 4, 5 and 7. His blazing finish allowed him to nip Pagunsan and Pucay for second place.
Pagunsan, two behind Lascuña at the start of the day, bogeyed the first hole, an easy par-5 which most in the field can reach in two. Juvic was never a threat after that.
Four shots behind Lascuña at the start of the round, Pucay also birdied the first and moved within three after picking up another shot on the fourth.
But he reeled back with back-to-back bogeys from No. 6 and had to rally with a 34 to salvage a 71 and a 213 total. Pagunsan and Pucay split a combined P115,000 in the tournament which most of the field used as tuneup for the P2.5-million Orchard Championship slated May 22 to 25 in Dasmariñas, Cavite.
Other backers of the event were Nike Golf, Empire Golf and Sports Shop, Mizuno, Titleist, Srixon, Foot Joy, Callaway, Pacsports, Custom Clubmakers, Cleveland Golf and Sharp, with Balls, Studio 23, Pinoygolfer.com and Inquirer Golf as media partners.