Patrick Tambalque kept his stellar play in 18-hole tournaments going, repelling Tristan Padilla to rule Round 5 of the ICTSI Junior PGT Series for boys’ 13-14 with 54 Molave points at Pradera Verde in Lubao, Pampanga on Sunday.
In a virtual repeat of his feat at Splendido Taal last week, Tambalque gunned down three birdies against the same number of bogeys as he posted a gross 72 at the well-kept Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club to edge Padilla by one point for his third victory in 18-hole format, including his romp at Mount Malarayat last June.
Padilla turned in 53 points after a 73 for second while erstwhile Order of Merit leader Alexander Crisostomo struggled with a 76 worth 50 points for third. Rafael Leonio and Bien Fajardo pooled 48 and 46 points from grosses of 78 and 80 as they placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Tambalque’s back-to-back wins also netted him 30 points in overall points total which combines the points garnered from 18-hole tournaments and the overall DCP (drive, chip and putt) format as he ended up on top after the grueling course-hopping series organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
Padilla and Crisostomo tied for second overall with 25 points but the former (53 points) edged the latter (50 points) in the countback based on their Pradera Verde outputs,
Fajardo and Chaz Limketkai grabbed the last two spots in the national finals with 20 and 19 points, respectively.
The grand finals, which will also feature the Top 5 finishers in the boys’ and girls’ 9-10, 11-12, girls’ 13-14 and boys’ and girls’ 15-18 brackets, will be held on Oct. 3 at The Country Club in Laguna.
Meanwhile, Santino Pineda turned back a late-charging Zachary Villaroman as he topped Round 4 of the boys’ 15-18 play with 56 Molave points on a gross two-under 70 at the well-kept layout.
In a follow-up to his victory at Splendido Taal last week, Pineda rode on a big backside charge to secure the victory, birdying Nos. 12 and 14 to recover from a frontside 37 on his way to a gross 71.
Villaroman actually matched Pineda’s gross one-under card on a birdie-birdie windup but fell short by one under the Molave scoring system as he ended up with 55 points and settled for another runner-up finish in the series put up by ICTSI.
Mark Kobayashi also birdied two of the last seven holes to save a gross 76 worth 50 points for third, matching the Top 3 placing at Splendido, also played under the 18-hole format, last week.
Rafael Mañaol scored 49 points from gross 77 for fourth while David Serdenia, coming off a victory at Beverly Place, also in Pampanga, wound up fifth with 43 points from a gross 83 followed by Order of Merit frontrunner Miguel Espartero, Von Tablac and Alejandro Arabia with 41, 31 and 22 points, respectively.
Lia Duque, meanwhile, changed the script in the girls’ 15-18 class, scoring 53 points on a one-birdie, two-bogey card for a gross 73, as she got back at Splendido leg winner Ji Won Lee of Korea and shored up her own finals drive.
Lee, who beat Duque by 11 points at Splendido, made 49 points from a gross 77, while Angelica Bañez came in third with 34 points from a gross 92.
The boys’ and girls’ 15-18 classes will close out their elims battle on Oct. 1 at Eagle Ridge under the drive, chip and putt format.