Lewton wins in playoff

SANTA Rosa, Laguna—Guided by the same line of putt he missed in regulation, Englishman Steve Lewton saved par in his return to the 18th in the playoff to clinch the Solaire Philippine Open crown at the expense of American Johannes Veerman at The Country Club here.

“Though mine was farther than his, I was happy that it was the same line as in regulation, and shorter, too,” the lanky
6-foot-3 Lewton told sportswriters, referring to the winning 12-footer that rewarded him a net purse of $54,000 (about P2.7 million).

Facing an upward putt of six feet, the 6-foot-4 Veerman missed the cup by an inch, also virtually from the same angle that he missed holing out for a 73 earlier.

Still, the one-over par effort of Veerman, the reigning Asian Development Tour Order of Merit champion, was good enough to push him into a tie with Lewton, who went over for the first time with a 75, at one-under 287 total.

Thai Rattanon Wannasrichan, the third man in the championship flight, double bogeyed the 17th hole, then misread his closing par putt and settled for a 73 that denied him a ticket to the playoff with a 288 aggregate.

The Filipino challenge, led by Miguel Tabuena and Tony Lascuña, fizzled out in the back nine.

Despite a double bogey start, Tabuena went one under with a 20-foot eagle on the 10th, only to be sidetracked by a bogey on the 16th and another double bogey on the 18th.

The 22-year-old Tabuena, champion in the 2015 PH Open held at Luisita, finished with a 75 and wound up joint fifth at 292, three shots better than Lascuna, who collapsed with six bogeys at the back, including the last three holes, for a 79 and a 295 total.

Tabuena, winner of last month’s TCC Invitationals, Lascuna, four-time Order of Merit champion of the Philippine Golf Tour, and 2008 PH Open titlist Angelo Que, who shot a 77 for 300, will fly to New Delhi Monday to join the Hero Indian Open.

American Blake Snyder matched par 72 and wound up fourth at 291, towing Tabuena, Thai Suradit Yongcharoenchai (73), Singaporean Mitchell Slorach (73) and American Brett Munson (74) at 292.

Though he went over for the first time after earlier efforts of 70-71-71, Lewton said he was very pleased with the result, considering the winds that blew at 30 mph and the difficult pin placements.

“It’s good to come back here and play well again, said the 33-year-old Lewton, who placed fourth in the 2014 Solaire Open also held at TCC when it was shorter than the current 7735 yards.

It was a tight battle between Lewton, whose second shot in the playoff landed in the sand trap, and Veerman, whose ball landed at the edge of the fringe, as they traded pars from the 12th before closing with bogeys.

Lewton’s next stop will be the New Zealand Open next week, followed by an Asian Development Tour event in Kuala Lumpur.

The revered Frankie Miñoza, PH Open champion in 1998 and 2007, closed out with an 80=309 in a tie with 2009 titlist Elmer Salvador (75). Gerald Rosales, the 2000 winner, skied to an 83 for 313.

Australian Marcus Both, the 2014 winner, tallied a 72 for 298, faring better than Singaporean Mardan Mamat, the 2012 titlist, who fired 76 for 307 in the event sponsored by Solaire Resort and Casino and supported by Meralco and PLDT.