PAOLO Wong and Don Petil pounced on Gab Manotoc and Lester Lagman’s wobbly start and turned what was expected to be a tight finish into a runaway triumph in the National Doubles Amateur Golf Championship at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club in QC yesterday.
Wong and Petil produced just one birdie against three bogeys in the deciding two-ball, foursome format but their two-over 70 proved enough to net them the overall crown via a five-stroke romp over the Manotoc-Lagman and Ryan Monsalve-Lanz Uy pairs with a 274 total in the 54-hole championship sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation.
Manotoc and Lagman failed to sustain their lead-grabbing 141 in aggregate play as they fumbled with two double bogeys and two bogeys in alternate format and fell off the leaderboard just after nine holes with a 41. They hardly recovered with a 35 at the back and ended up with a 76 for a 279.
Monsalve and Uy, who paced the field with a solid 59 in the opening four-ball Wednesday, also struggled in another scorching but windy day, limping with a 39 at the front and finishing with a 74 to match Manotoc and Lagman’s output. Monsalve and Uy, however, snared the Group I title for the second straight year via countback.
The Wong-Petil tandem scored a 61 in four-ball then combined for a 143 in aggregate to trail Manotoc and Lagman by one heading to the final round where play shifted to alternate format.
Dan Cruz and Luigi Guerrero turned in a 72 and placed fourth at 286 while Ruperto Zaragosa and Adrian Romero skied to a 79 for fifth at 289 in the event which served as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour.
Harmie Constantino and Joseph Orbito combined for the day’s best 69 to share sixth place with Kristine Torralba and Matthew Abalos, who had a 72, at 294 while Eddie Bagtas and Leandro Bagtas shot a 76 and tied Gabby Malaguim and Ivan Monsalve, who hobbled with a 77, at eighth with 296s.
Clare Legaspi and Felicia Medalla groped for an 84 for a 298 and wound up 10th in the season-ending tournament organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Santino Diokno and Miguel Roque rallied with a 37 at the back for an 81 and a 316 then nipped erstwhile leaders Pierre Ticzon and Allan Crisostomo, who made an 83-316, in the playoff to snatch the Group II crown.
Allen Embuscado and Jimmy Suelo, on the other hand, completed a wire-to-wire triumph in Group III with a 311 after an 81, beating Edwin Abesamis and Hermie Salivio, who had an 84-321, by 10. Boom Coscolluela and Joey Anciano placed third with a 324 after an 85.