Pagunsan finishes with a flourish, nips Lascuña in playoff
Juvic Pagunsan completed the rule as best he could on a course he admits had trouble playing before beating Antonio Lascuña on the first sudden death hole to dominate the Philippine Golf Tour’s P2 million ICTSI Riviera Challenge in the Philippines. Silang, Cavite on Friday.
Pagunsan also had a helping hand, as Lascuña hit two balls on the 72nd hole, with both finishing in 289 after final rounds of 71 and 69 in the demanding Langer layout.
The Japan Tour mainstay swings sweetly dropping an 8-foot par in 18th place, which he earned from a delicate swing out of the green, when he won again. on local soil since before the pandemic began.
“This week has been very difficult,” Pagunsan later said in Filipino. “I really don’t know how to play (this course). Conditions change all the time and greens are unpredictable.
“I guess I was lucky to catch (Lascuña) too,” he continued. “I played after the lead the whole round.”
Fidel Concepcion, who held the lead at the end of the first and third quarters, blew up when the game mattered, signing a fat 80 score that cost him five times the winning score.
The Langer Layout demands nothing but the best from the talent field as it only delivers three extra rounds on Friday and only 10 rounds in total for the entire week.
Zannie Boy Gialon shot a 73 to end a playoff hit, with Rico Depilo, second-round leader Guido Van Der Valk of the Netherlands, and Orlan Sumcad in 291th place after efforts 75-76 and 69 respectively. .
“My bird at 17 was the key,” says Pagunsan. “And I got a chance to get into the playoffs with that unfortunate double from Lascuña.”
Lascuña was in a group that led Pagunsan and took a two-shot lead to reach the final hole. But finding a fairway bunker at teeing off forced him to layup, only for the former Order of Merit champion to cross the green first. He needs three more hits to get out.
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