Sean Ramos battled back from two down and pounced on Josh Jorge’s final hole mishap to snare the men’s crown with a 68 while Korean Kim Seo Yun outduelled Bernice Olivarez-Ilas on the third playoff hole to clinch the women’s title in the NGAP Northern Luzon Regional Golf Championship at the Beverly Place Golf Club in Pampanga yesterday.
Jorge actually forced a tie at four-over overall total after Ramos bogeyed the par-5 17th but the former cracked under pressure and bogeyed the last for a 71, another par-5, enabling Ramos to claim the win on a 217 aggregate that included rounds of 74 and 75.
It was Ramos’ second straight championship after ruling the Canlubang Amateur Open last week.
And it was sorry setback for Jorge, who flashed resiliency after an opening triple bogey 8 and a bogey on the second as he rattled off four birdies in the next seven to salvage and even par card and regain a one-stroke lead over Ramos, who shot a 33, at the turn.
But Ramos took charge with birdies on Nos. 12, 14 and 16 only to drop to a share of the lead again with a bogey on the penultimate hole.
Masaichi Otake skied to a 77 and wound up third at 228 while Jet Hernandez pooled a 231 for fourth after an 81 followed by Francis Lanuza (79-237), Miguel Olivarez-Ilas (81-243) and David Guangko (78-244).
Kim, on the other hand, came out of two bogey duels with Ilas with a par on the third extra hole, which the latter bogeyed, to share the spotlight with Ramos in the 54-hole championship which served as part of the PLDT Group’s National Amateur Golf Tour organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.
Kim rallied with a backside 35 and a 72 in regulation for a 215 to tie Ilas, winner of the pro event here in 2016, who blew a five-stroke lead with nine holes to play with a closing 40 for a 75 in the event backed by the MVP Sports Foundation, Cignal, Metro Pacific and hosted by Beverly Place Golf Club.
Laurea Duque placed third with a 217 after a 73 while Rianne Malixi rallied with a 71 for fourth at 224 followed by Kristine Fleetwood (74-228) and Weifang Gao (79-241).
August Cruz scored a wire-to-wire triumph in men’s division Group I, pooling a 151 after a 77 to beat Bernardo Chang Jr., who had a 159 after an 80, in gross play while Alan Alegre took the net crown with a 146, four shots ahead of Santino Diokno.
Armando Lustre, meanwhile, fought back with an 83 to claim the Group II gross diadem with a 168, beating Boom Coscolluela, who had a 176 after an 89, with Anthony Arevalo taking the net title with a 148 for a one-shot victory over Oliver Onrubia II.
