Bayron charges back, tops Aboitiz by 2 shots | Inquirer Sports

Bayron charges back, tops Aboitiz by 2 shots

By: - Reporter / @MusongINQ
/ 02:58 AM August 07, 2016

JAY BAYRON closed out with a two-under-par 70 to hold off a hard-charging Gavin Green of Malaysia and rule the $100,000 Aboitiz Invitational by two shots at Wack Wack East in Mandaluyong yesterday.

The 37-year-old Bayron, who started the day trailing overnight leader Nicolas Paez of the United States by a shot, birdied the par-4 15th hole for what proved to be the turning point, tallying a 72-hole 282 over the tree-lined layout.

The well-built Green, one of the finest players to come out of Malaysia in recent years, rallied with a 69 to finish with a 284 total.

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In winning the event for the second time since the inaugural edition in Cebu in 2011, Bayron bankrolled $17,500 (roughly P822,000), but, more importantly, erased bitter memories of losing the Philippine Open to American Berry Henson by a shot that same year.

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Bayron, the former caddy of President Duterte at Apo Golf in Davao in the late 1990s, had another highlight, a pitch-in birdie from 30 yards on the tough ninth hole which he later said inspired him the rest of the round.

“I was looking for a spark (in my round), an inspiration,” Bayron said in Filipino. “That was it, the birdie on No. 9. It gave me all the confidence the rest of the round.”

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That birdie on No. 15 put all the pressure on Green, who actually tied Bayron going to No. 15 only for the eventual champion to pull out a two-shot swing after the Malaysian muffed a four-footer for par.

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Rattanon Wannasrichan also carved out a 69 and finished third at 285, with Filipino Antonio Lascuña shooting a 71 to settle for a tie with Indon George Gandranata, who shot a 70, at 286.

Paez couldn’t handle the pressure playing with the lead and skied to a 77, winding up with a level 288, tied with Poom Saksansin of Thailand and Sweden’s Malcom Kokocinski, who shot 72 and 73, respectively.

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TAGS: Aboitiz Invitational, Golf, Jay Bayron

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