Ricar Candinato drew more than what he had asked for from amateur partner Zeus Sara as they produced a stirring 11-under 61 in four-ball format as they crowned themselves the first Sambalilo Golf Pro-Am champion on Saturday at the Caliraya Springs Golf Club in Cavinti, Laguna.
Sara, a 6-handicapper, churned out a brilliant nine-birdie stint as he practically steered his partnership with Candinato from two strokes down with a sustained assault on the par-72 layout.
The Davaoeño ace bogeyed the first hole which Candinato saved then went on a birdie spree on Nos. 5, 8 and 9 before stringing four straight from No. 10. He capped his exploits with back-to-back birdies from No. 16 for the team’s 31-30 output.
Counting their 63 in the scramble format Friday, the Candinato, who birdied No. 4, and Sara pooled a 20-under 124 total to eclipse erstwhile joint leaders Sean Ramos and Laurea Duque’s 125 aggregate after slowing down with 64 in best-ball after a 61.
Candinato, a pro from Eastridge where he last played in the local pro circuit many years ago, thus received the top purse of P100,000 while Sara took home a trophy plus merchandise at the close of the two-day event sponsored by the Municipality of Cavinti in conjunction with the province’s Sambalilo Festival celebrations.
Ramos and Duque’s bid got stymied by a bogey on the par-3 No. 3 as they came up short by one despite a fiery windup of six birdies in the last seven holes on a pair of three-birdie feats from Nos. 12 and 16. Ramos took the P50,000 runner-up prize.