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Guido guts it out for 1stroke win

4 days ago

ANTIPOLO CITY Guido van der Valk weathered a tense backnine meltdown in sweltering conditions and fended off a fierce late charge from three determined rivals to secure a nailbiting onestroke victory at the ICTSI Forest Hills Classic on FridayWhat began as a comfortable march to the title quickly turned into a gritty battle for the 45yearold Dutchman who saw his fourshot lead evaporate over six holes before steadying himself with a clutch par on the 18th hole to seal a hardfought 70 and claim the crownNo 18 isnt the easiest holetheres a lot of trouble out there But I hit a good drive and followed it with a really nice second shot That helped me settle down and close it out van der Valk said The Dutch veteran who last won several seasons ago and came agonizingly close to a third win at The Country Club Invitational in January finally ensured he finished atop the leaderboardVan der Valk entered the week on a strong run having tied for fourth at the Philippine Golf Tours opening leg at Pradera Verde in February and finishing runnerup to Angelo Que at Eagle Ridge last AprilHe looked poised for a commanding finish after matching Aidric Chans sizzling 31 on the front nine and extending his lead with a birdie on the 10th But momentum shifted dramatically as van der Valk bogeyed the 12th 15th and 17th holes opening the door for Keanu Jahns Angelo Que and Reymon Jaraula to mount late charges on the challenging Nicklaus courseFacing a suddenly wideopen tournament van der Valk clung to a slender oneshot lead heading to the par4 18th Under immense pressure he drove down the fairway then dialed in a laserprecise approach that landed just three feet left of the pin He calmly twoputted for par to secure a 12under 272 total and the P430000 winners purseThat final par seemingly routine proved heartbreakingly decisive for Jahns and Que whose scorching rounds came within inches of forcing a playoffI started off a bit shaky with my approach shots but managed to save pars From No 5 onwards I really found my rhythm with four straight birdies van der Valk said But I got a bit defensive on the back nine and started getting into trouble The bogeys made the finish harder but I hung in thereAsked about Ques late surge van der Valk admitted At first I wasnt too worried especially being fourunder with nine holes to play But once I made those bogeys it definitely got tougher Still I managed to hold onDespite the backnine struggles van der Valk felt his overall solid play was key to finally ending a long title droughtJahns after a slow front nine 34 exploded with five birdies in eight holes on the back nine including a closing birdie to shoot 66 and finish at 11under 273Que meanwhile fired the round of the daya sizzling 64 highlighted by seven birdiesalso finishing one shot off the lead The threetime Asian Tour winner had looked poised for another comeback but was left to rue missed chances by the slimmest of marginsJahns and Que split the combined second and third prizes totaling P430000Jaraula tied with van der Valk after 54 holes stumbled early with bogeys on the front nine and the 12th He staged a late rally with birdies on 14 16 and 17 to tie Jahns and Que at 11under but dropped to solo fourth with a 72 after a failed sand save on the last holeJeffren Lumbo shot a 66 to climb to solo fifth at 275 while Chan who started strong but faltered with a 40 on the back nine settled for sixth at 276 after a 71Fidel Concepcion carded a 67 to finish seventh at 278 followed by Russel Bautista 70282 and Carl Corpus 72283 Clyde Mondilla matched par 71 to tie for 10th at 284 alongside Atsushi Ueda and Justin Quiban who posted rounds of 74 and 75 respectively

Rey Bancod

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