Antipolo—With a huge lead, Clyde Mondilla re-calibrated his attacking kind of game to a subdued one and secured a first championship in three years – winning the ICTSI Forest Hills Classic crown by five over Angelo Que and Dino Villanueva despite a 72 at the Nicklaus course here on Friday.
It was virtually his since he unleashed a scorching 11-under 60 behind aggressive play in preferred conditions Tuesday and kept attacking the hilly par-71 layout in the next two days to produce 66 and 68 and a whopping six-stroke bulge with 18 holes to play in the P2 million championship.
He didn’t need a blast to cap a remarkable four-day campaign in the seventh leg of this year’s Philippine Golf Tour. In fact, Mondilla faltered with his first over-par round on a course he ripped and a field he clipped with his near-impeccable play.
But it hardly mattered as the Del Monte ace shifted to conservative play after birdying the first two holes and bogeying three of the next four. He parred the rest for a pair of 36s and an 18-under 266 total and beat Que, who took the challenger’s role with a fiery 64 Thursday but could only match par 71, and a late-charging Villanueva, who closed out with back-to-back 66s, by five strokes.
“I just played it safe at the back since Nos. 10, 11 and 12 are very tricky. But it wasn’t after I hit my drive on No. 17 that I knew it’s (win) mine,” said Mondilla, whose wife Mae is expecting their second child next month.”
“Swerte din at sobrang blessed talaga,” he added
But he admitted to have felt some kind of pressure after those spate of bogeys, saying: “Yes, there was pressure but I was able to handle it with my run of pars,” said Mondilla.
He banked P350,000, the bulk of which he would use to support an Asian Development Tour campaign in Thailand next month, while Que and Villanueva, who matched 271s, shared the combined second and third prizes of P360,000.
The margin of victory paled in comparison to Rupert Zaragosa’s nine-stroke romp over Tony Lascuña in the Iloilo stop of the country’s premier circuit put up by ICTSI. But the way Mondilla dominated the field and the course with his solid driving, superb iron game and putting—making his first bogey only after the 50th hole—only underscored the talent and skills of the multi-titled player who went on a slump after topping the most crowded playoff cast – five – in PGT history at Pradera Verde in 2020 where he rallied from six down to earn a spot in sudden death.
But the drought only made the former amateur hotshot hungrier and fiercer, reaching his desired form with a joint runner-up finish with Lloyd Go in the PGT Valley Golf Challenge won by Reymon Jaraula two weeks ago.
Mondilla actually shot back-to-back birdies to launch his final round drive. But the opening two holes were no indication of anything, particularly on a course that could play friendly in a stretch but could be a beast in the next.
After padding his lead to 8, Mondilla dropped three strokes in the next four holes and made the turn with a one-over 36. Though Que went on a rollercoaster bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie roll from No. 5 for a 35, he birdied the 12th to get to within four, sparking hopes for another big finish the way he did in battling back from six shots down off Jay Bayron and beat Lascuna by three in the inaugural Anvaya Cove Invitational in 2015.
But the three-time Asian Tour champion came undone with a costly bogey on No. 14, enabling Mondilla to cruise to victory.
Albin Engino gunned down an eagle on No. 6 but made two double bogeys and four bogeys against three birdies to fall to fourth at 276 after a 74 and took home P103,000, while Lascuna fired a 70 and shared fifth place with Guido van der Valk, carded a 72, at 277.
Keanu Jahns shot a 72 for seventh at 281, Japanese Atsushi Ueda pooled a 282 for eighth, also after a 72, while Elee Bisera put in a 73 to tie Zaragosa, who made a 75, at 283.
Junior PGT campaigner Miko Granada, meanwhile, wound up with a second straight 76 and tied for 22nd at 293, securing the low amateur honors as early as Wednesday after emerging the lone player from the ranks to advance.
Meanwhile, the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.-organized circuit will take a two-month break and will resume in September with two legs in Mindanao.
