Ryan Monsalve and Lanz Uy played in sync all throughout and turned what was expected to be a tight finish into a runaway triumph, combining for a superb four-under 64 and a whopping eight-stroke victory over Jed Dy and Mikha Fortuna in the National Doubles Amateur Golf Championship at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club yesterday.
Bracing for a wild finish after moving past first round leader Sean Ramos and Gabby Macalaguim by one following the aggregate play Saturday, Monsalve and Uy stood out in the deciding alternate shot format, pulling away early with three birdies in the first four holes then bouncing back from a bogey on No. 5 with three more birdies against another bogey at the back for a 34-30 card.
Counting their opening 62 and a second round 141, Monsalve and Uy finished with a 267, beating Dy and Fortuna, who carded a 69 for a 275, by eight and besting Bianca Pagdanganan and Dy’s seven-shot win in last year’s staging of the annual event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.
“He just played relaxed golf,” said Uy of his partner, who anchored their big second round charge with a 66 at the short but tight par-68 layout.
“Although the course is short, we were careful with our shots because it’s easy to get into trouble since the fairways are tight and the roughs are thick. We actually played some holes short so we could set up good approach shots,” said Monsalve.
Ramos and Macalaguim, who took charge with a 61 in Friday’s opening four-ball, lost in the face of Monsalve and Uy’s hot start and bombed out with a frontside 41. They failed to recover at the back and finished with a 75 to drop to joint third at 279 with the Ivan Monsalve-Aldo Barro pair, which shot a 71.
Luigi Guerrero and Dan Cruz also scored a 71 to end up tied for fifth at 280 with the Josh Jorge-Santino Laurel tandem, which groped for a 74, while Santino Diokno and Miguel Roque carded a 72 for seventh at 283 in the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation and held as part of the PLDT National Amateur Golf Tour and backed by Cignal and Metro Pacific Investments.
Paolo Barro and Laia Barro ended up eighth at 284 after a 70, Menard Ko and Roy Nodalo turned in a 76 for ninth at 289 while the pairs of Jonar Austria-Marco Olives and Sam Martirez-Diana Araneta pooled identical 74s for joint 10th at 290 with Gab Manotoc and Carlo Quimson, who struggled with a 76.
Meanwhile, registration for the 2020 National Stroke Play Championship set Jan. 7-10 at Riviera’s Langer course is ongoing. For details, call NGAP at telefax No. (02) 7065926 or at Riviera Golf Club, Inc. at (02) 888-9089 or 0956-8821149 email ngap2009handicap@yahoo.com.
Jona Magcalayo and Sunshine Zhang, on the other hand, combined for a 77 as they battled from two shots down to claim the Group II diadem with a 299, nipping erstwhile leaders Larry Patnongon and Jaime Patnongon, who fumbled with a 79 for a 300, by one.
Sophia Blanco and Alexi Blanco placed third with a 305 after a 77.
Ricky Velasco and Ramon Capistrano also rallied to snare the Group III crown with a 303 after a 79, foiling Allan Rubrica and Dennis Nicomedes, who stumbled with an 81 for a 305, while Jimmy Suelo and Romeo Lopez fired a 69 to finish third at 307.
