Tainan, Taiwan—Tony Lascuña came through with two big shots to fend off two gutsy Thai rivals and withstand a charging Taiwanese in a flight ahead, winning the Nan Pao TPGA (PGA of Taiwan) Open crown by one with a bogey-free 70 at the Nan Pao Golf Club here yesterday.
Those bailout shots bucked the Filipino ace’s errant driving in the last two holes that made the title chase a lot more interesting and gripping as these gave Ratchapol Jantavara and Liu Yu-Jui a share of the lead at 17-under overall and a crack at the crown that was remained up for grabs until the final putt.
But Lascuña proved steadier in the end, coming through with a near-perfect lob shot from 45 yards on No. 17 after hooking his drive near the hazard to salvage a tap-in par, a brilliant save that somehow shattered Jantavara’s confidence as the Thai, who fought back from two strokes down to force a tie with a four-under card after 10 holes, flubbed a four-footer for par to drop back by one.
Another hooked Lascuna drive on the par-5 18th that rolled under a tree gave the long-hitting Thai—and Liu, who closed out with a 68 ahead of the final group—another shot at the lead. But Lascuña pulled off another spectacular shot—drawing a 9-iron shot from 120 yards that rolled from the front of the green to the right edge then raised his arms in triumph after completing a two-putt par in the $100,000 event which served as the fifth leg of Philippine Golf Tour Asia and sixth stop of TPGA.
Counting his two birdies at the front, Lascuña closed out with a 34-36 for a 17-under 271 total worth $17,500 in a victory that washed away two years of struggle to regain the form that netted him a number of local titles and three PGT Order of Merit crown from 2013-14 and in 2016.
“It’s been a long time and what makes this win a lot sweeter was that I made it here in Taiwan,” said Lascuña. “But coming here, I was really confident of my form and my chances.”
But he later admitted to have been surprised by his errant drives in the last two holes but kept his composure and didn’t let those miscues unnerve him a bit.
“I was actually steady off the tee since Day One but that’s golf and the pressure that goes with it,” he said. “But I told myself to just stay focused and I knew I could salvage pars in the last two holes.”
He did – to the delight of the local gallery that rooted for the amiable Davaoeno shotmaker all day but to the chagrin of the Thais, who had hoped to sweep the two PGT Asia legs here after Wisut Artjanawat topped the Daan TPGA Open in Taichung last May.
Worse, Jantavara’s bogey-bogey finish for a 70 also enabled Liu, who shared the halfway lead with Lascuna and compatriot Lee Cho-Chuan and joined the Filipino and Jantavara in the lead again with a five-under card after 13 holes, to snatch solo second at 272 in the event backed by PLDT Enterprise, Meralco, BDO and PGT Asia official apparel Pin High.
Jantavara, who topped the PGT Asia Qualifying Tournament at Luisita last April, instead dropped to joint third at 273 with fellow Thai Sattaya Supupramai, who also pulled within one with a birdie on No. 16 but bogeyed the last for a 69, and Taiwanese Hsieh Tung-Hung, who rebounded with a 65.
Sung Mao-Chang, who placed second to rallied with a 68 for joint eight with compatriots Chen Po Hao (65), Lien Lu-Sen (68), Lien Lu-Sen (68) and Wang Jen Li (69) and first-day leader Lein Benjamin of the US (66).
But the day belonged to Lascuna, who proved that at 48, he can still slug it out with some of the best and leading players in TPGA and PGT Asia and emerge on top even in a scrambling, pressure-packed finish that could rattle even the steadiest players in the fold.
“This victory also proved that Filipinos can be at par or even better our counterparts in the region and winning a PGT Asia event abroad is doubly meaningful since I’m the first Pinoy to do so,” said Lascuña after nailing his first victory since winning the ICTSI Forest Hills Championship in 2017 and second win abroad after edging Singapore’s Mardan Mamat in sudden death in the Sabah Masters in Malaysia in 2013.