Sean Ramos underscored his readiness to help anchor the national team’s gold medal drive in next month’s SEA Games as he rallied from four strokes down to beat Jonar Austria by two with a 73 and clinch the Elite men’s crown for the second straight year in the NGAP Northern Luzon Regional Championship at the Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac yesterday.
As second round leader AK MD Syakir of Brunei cracked under pressure and skied to an 81 on 40-41, the Filipino bets took over and slugged it out in a spirited backside duel with Ramos emerging on top again with clutch pars for a 37-36 card and a 54-hole total of 222 that included a 73 and 76.
Austria, who led in the first round with a gutsy 72 but fell behind by two to Syakir after 36 holes of the annual tournament organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines, grabbed the lead by matching Ramos’ opening 37. But he bogeyed two of the first two holes at the back, enabling Ramos to draw level at six-over overall then dropped two strokes on No. 14 to slip off the leaderboard.
But Austria fought back and eagled the par-5 16th, only to yield those strokes on a wet double bogey on the tough par-3 17th and ended up with a 40.
He settled for second at 224 while Jacob Rolida ran out of holes in his comeback bid that featured two birdies in the last six holes, finishing with the tournament-best 71 card to snatch third place at 225 in the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, Cignal and Metro Pacific Investments and serving as part of PLDT Group National Amateur Tour.
Ramos’ victory augured well for his buildup for the SEAG, also set at Luisita, with Aidric Chan, Carl Corpus and Luis Castro as the other members of the team.
Rianne Malixi likewise charged back to snare the Elite women’s title, edging Sophia Blanco in a playoff after the two finished tied at 227 after a 75 and 79, respectively.
Four shots behind Blanco after 36 holes, Malixi put up a strong frontside 36 to grab the lead by one as the latter fumbled with a 41. But Malixi wobbled at the back, needing to birdie the last to save a 39 and a 75 while Blanco parred the last four holes for a 38 and a 79.
It was Malixi’s third big victory in the season about to end as the rising star also ruled the Philippine Junior Amateur Open and the Phl Amateur Open Match Play crowns early in the season.
Last year’s winner Kim Seo Yun of Korea failed to mount a rally and hobbled with a 78 for third at 231 while Laurea Duque wound up fourth at 233 after an 82 and Kayla Nocum placed fifth at 237 after an 81.
Meanwhile, Romeo Lopez carded a 79 and took the lead in Group I of men’s division, three shots ahead of Stephen Tan (82) and four-up on August Cruz (83) while Matthew Sangalang shot an 82 to post a two-stroke lead over Allan Pasion (84) and fourth over Titus Aguilar (86) in Group II.
Syakir, who stepped up his title drive with impressive 73-72 in the first two rounds, wound up fourth at 226 followed by recent Cangolf Am Open winner Dan Cruz (76-227) and Josh Jorge (73-229) while Korean Tae Won Ha carded a 74 and tied for seventh with Paolo Barro (76) at 230 and Brunei’s Zul Hilmi placed ninth at 237 after an 80 and compatriot Awang Aritz Maldino ended up 10th at 238 after a 78.