Tony Lascuña turned a season of doubts into a year-end of hope, beating Keanu Jahns, 4&3, to crown himself the first ICTSI Villamor Match Play men’s champion in Pasay on Friday.
But Harmie Constantino produced a magical win in the women’s final, coming through with a clutch chip-in birdie she described as “unexplainable” as she edged top amateur Rianne Malixi in a rain-drenched duel that stretched to the 19th hole to snare the hotly-contested title.
Constantino trailed majority of the way, the last on the island green No. 17 which she conceded after Malixi hit her tee-shot just below the hole. But the former never lost hope and gained after the latter hit an errant second shot on the par-5 18th that went into the water, sending the match to where it had all started – all square.
And as Malixi set up a 12-foot birdie putt on their second trip to the first green, Constantino holed out from the rough 40 yards away to foil the very amateur who had dominated this year’s Ladies Philippine Golf Tour with a sweep of all her stints at Luisita, Valley and Riviera.
But Constantino had the last laugh as Malixi flubbed her tying putt, enabling the former to match Lascuña’s P280,000 winnings in the novel championship capping the return to the mainstream of the two pro circuits put up by ICTSI.
“It’s unexplainable, hindi talaga ako makapaniwala (I just can’t believe it),” said Constantino, who also won the LPGT season-ending tournament at Pradera Verde, beating Chanelle Avaricio, also a three-leg winner this year, by one last month.
“My caddie and I were only trying to land it a couple of yards before the flag and make it roll out. I just wanted to make it close as much as I can but not really hole it in. So, it’s a bonus,” added Constantino, who marked her pro debut last year with two victories, both at Eagle Ridge-Aoki.
She nipped Mafy Singson, 1-up, in the first round then turned back Sunshine Baraquiel, 3&1, before dominating Marvi Monsalve, 6-4, on a course she calls home.
It was a sorry setback for the 15-year-old Malixi, who dispatched Pamela Mariano, Gretchen Villacencio and top seed Chihiro Ikeda via the same 3&2 results to head to the finals oozing with confidence and momentum.
But she struggled with her putting stroke, missing at least seven cracks at birdies inside five feet although she controlled the match up to the 17th until that costly mishit on the 18th that virtually changed the course of play.
Earlier, Lascuña’s margin of victory came as a big surprise for the affable Davaoeno ace, who had braced for a grind-out duel with a young, power-hitting rival after coming out of a rigorous route to the finals with victories over Gerald Rosales and Clyde Mondilla in the quarters and semifinals, respectively, Thursday.
But he did expect to win. Driven by desire to end the season with a win after getting foiled to settle for runner-up finishes in the last three Philippine Golf Tour regular events at Eagle Ridge-Aoki, Riviera and Pradera Verde, Lascuna knew he had the game needed in a head-to-head format and on a tight, tough course as Villamor.
Sure, he didn’t have the length to dominate but had the steadfastness, the short game and poise that could still humble even the most talented from among a slew of young guns on the Tour that he declared he would to win it all even before the first shot is fired in Monday’s pro-am.
“I think I’d win all the matches. I’ve been playing well and my putting is just as okay with my driving and irons. I also didn’t want to end the season without a win, so I really prepared for this,” said Lascuna, so confident even in such format where one shot or one hole could shift the momentum to the other player.
Yet he delivered as promised, easing past Paul Echavez, 3&1, in the first round, edging Angelo Que, 1-up, in the next then bundling out Rosales and Mondilla.
After matching pars with Jahns on the first hole, where his 27-year-old rival outdrove him but missed a flopped shot from about 50 years to the frontside bunker before salvaging the hole, Lascuna won the next after both cut the par-5 No. 2 with their power drives.
But while Lascuna barely escaped the first water hazard that left him with a 190-yard second shot, Jahns’ drove near the wall and hit a bailout shot too strong that it went straight to the second hazard.
He conceded the hole and Lascuna took the next with a 15-foot birdie putt that dealt so much pressure for Jahns, who flubbed his own birdie bid from 10 feet.
Lascuna held sway from there, going four-up at the turn that even a slip on the cart path on No. 10 that saw him fall on the ground had failed to stymie his title drive.
“Hindi ko alam na madulas yung naapakan ko. Naramdaman ko yung sakit sa No. 11. Kung tabla ang laro, malamang titigil na ako kasi sobrang sakit ng baywang ko. Pero tiniis ko (ang sakit) hanggang matapos (I didn’t know that what I stepped on was slippery. I felt the pain on No. 11 and if it was a tied match, I would’ve probably stopped because it hurt so much. But I endured (the pain) until the end,” said Lascuna, who will turn 52 next month.
But he, along with wife Cheryl Alferez and son Tony III, walked out of the Villamor Golf Club with ease what with a P280,000 winner’s check in hand and a sought-after victory he hopes would serve him in good stead when the next season is unwrapped two or three months from now.
“I’m very happy since this is my first win in a long while, especially after missing three close chances at Eagle Ridge, Riviera and Pradera Verde. I thought I would never win this year,” said Lascuna, who beat Ira Alido and Rupert Zaragosa by four in bubble setup at Riviera-Couples in 2020.
Brimming with confidence after holding off Jhonnel Ababa and top seed Guido Van der Valk Thursday to get at a crack at a breakthrough win, Jahns failed to produce a game he had expected and wound up behind his seasoned rival the way he did when he lost to Lascuna by three in the Apo Golf Invitational in 2019.
“I didn’t play good, my putting wasn’t good,” said Jahns.
“I was not actually pressured. Though Tony is good, I had the chance to upset him. But I wasn’t lucky to beat him,” added Jahns, who also lost to Lascuna in a match play duel in the 2016 edition of the North vs South series in Baguio.
“Tony played a superior game. He played steady all throughout and putted well. It’s hard to beat him when he plays that good,” said Jahns.
