TONY LASCUÑA needs only to churn out at least a fourth place finish to secure this year’s Order of Merit title but the four-leg winner has vowed to shoot for no less than the crown in the ICTSI Tournament Players Championship unfolding today, Wednesday at Wack Wack East.
“Why settle for fourth when I can go for the win?” said Lascuña on the eve of the P3.5 championship serving as the final leg of this year’s 16-stage ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour.
With four leg wins, including three straight at Eagle Ridge, Forest Hills and Bacolod, and a number of Top 5 finishes, Lascuña has racked up earnings of P3,045,948 to stay on top of the OOM rankings, P488,694 ahead of second running and three-leg champion Clyde Mondilla.
A fourth place finish this week will net Lascuña P195,000, enough to thwart Mondilla even if the Del Monte ace wins the P650,000 top prize. But the ace Davaoeño shotmaker, also a former three-time OOM winner, wants to reclaim the coveted individual crown in style with a victory in the closing leg of the circuit sponsored by ICTSI.
Lascuña actually skipped yesterday’s pro-am to polish his short game and putting stroke, which he said will be key at the demanding par-72 layout kept in championship form to provide a true test of golf for the elite 94-player field through all four days of what promises to be a battle for survival.
“I hope my putting clicks this week. I struggled a bit with my stroke last week and fell short against Micah (Shin) at Luisita. But I feel good and confident of my chances at Wack Wack,” said Lascuña, who braces for an explosive opener with Jay Bayron and Frankie Miñoza in the featured 7:25 a.m. flight on No. 10.
Bayron, winner of two legs this year, including the ADT Aboitiz Invitational at Wack Wack last month, hopes to ride the momentum of that two-stroke victory over Malaysian Gavin Green while also eyeing a shot at the OOM title with a win coupled with Lascuña’s poor finish.