ILOILO – Jhonnel Ababa battled back from five strokes down with a stirring four-under 66 then birdied the first playoff hole from five feet to nip fellow Dabawenyo Jay Bayron and capture the ICTSI Iloilo Golf Challenge crown at the Iloilo Golf and Country Club in Sta. Barbara here Friday.
The victory was sweet as it was startling with the former amateur hotshot needing to rally from five shots down to catch the reigning Order of Merit champion, who fumbled with a 71, at six-under 204, and force a sudden death.He steeled himself in the playoff at the par-4 No. 11, which they both birdied earlier, hacking a superb approach shot to within five feet for the clincher, his first pro victory worth P200,000.
Bayron, who putted from about 20 feet and missed, settled for P120,000. Ababa erased a five-stroke deficit right in the first six holes with a flawless three-under card then picked himself up from a bogey mishap on No. 15 with a clutch birdie on the 16th to gain a crack at the championship in the seventh leg of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
The victory should likewise augur well for the 28-year-old Davaoeno’s bid for a second straight title as the ICTSI-PGT circuit swings to Davao for the next leg on Aug. 10-12 for the ICTSI Apo Golf Invitational.
It was the second straight tournament that the ICTSI-PGT crown went through a playoff after Robert Pactolerin humbled Tony Lascuna on the fourth extra hole to rule the ICTSI Negros Occidental Classic in Bacolod last week.
Pactolerin, however, missed the cut here. Jun Bernis turned in his best finish at solo third, shooting a three-under 67 for a 207 worth P65,000 while Marvin Dumandan, winner of three legs last year but remained winless this season, fired the tournament-best six-under 64 to snatch fourth place at 208. He won P50,000.
Rookie Jerson Balasabas also recorded his best finish, placing fifth with a 209 after a 68 worth P40,000 while Cassius Casas (69), Rufino Bayron (70) and Carl Santos-Ocampo (70) wound up tied for sixth at even 210.
Gene Bondoc wound up ninth at 211 after a 72 while Danny Zarate, who shared the first round lead, ended up 10th with a 212 after a 73.
Ababa struck back early with a birdie on No. 2, gaining a two-shot swing as Bayron flubbed a four-footer for par, then moved within two as the erstwhile leader dropped another stroke on the next. He birdied No. 4 and No. 6 to draw level and even went ahead as Bayron continued to flounder and made another bogey on No. 10.
After both birdied No. 11, Bayron bounced back to tie Ababa with a birdie on No. 14 then regained the lead as Ababa bogeyed the 15th. But the former amateur hotshot struck a five-footer for birdie on the 16th then matched Bayron’s par-game in the last two holes to force a playoff.
“I struggled with my driving, missed a lot of fairways and had a tough time getting it up-and-down,” said Bayron, who also three-putted No. 3, in Filipino.
The event was backed by MJ Carr Golf Management, Inc., Srixon, Callaway, Unilab, BDO, Titleist, Sharp, Custom Clubmakers, Mizuno, Empire Golf & Sports Shop, PinoyGolfer.com, Inquirer Golf, Omnisource International, A Round of Golf, Studio 23, Balls, and Dynamic Sports.
