Guido van der Valk broke par in each of the four rounds to win the ICTSI Pradera Verde Championship over a pair of Davao golfers in Lubao, Pampanga Friday.
The Dutchman, a permanent Philippine resident, closed with a solid three-under-par 69 at the 7,262-yard championship layout to clinch his second title this season and fifth overall.
“It’s a bit of struggle, actually all week,” said Van der Valk who opened with a 71 and shot consecutive 70s. “I didn’t hit the ball well but my short game has been really, really good this week.”
Van der Valk fell behind by as many as four strokes but turned things around with an eagle on the par-5 12th hole. He wrested the lead on 14 following a two-shot swing over Lascuna and Ababa.
“I started to hit the ball better in the last nine holes, which is kind of good timing because that’s when it was needed,” said the Manila-based pro who celebrated his latest success with his Filipina wife Loradelle and visiting parents.
“Their presence motivated and inspired me no end,” Van der Valk said.
For a while, Van der Valk could not make things happen, settling for 11 straight pars. He lost his cool and cursed himself for missing a chip on 11.
“I couldn’t get a birdie in the first 11 holes. But on No. 12, I hit a good drive and tried to hit a 5-wood high so it would stop. But it landed off the green but rolled that one in. It was really nice,” he recalled.
It was, however, his chip-in birdie on 14 that shoved him to the lead as Ababa failed to rescue a par from the bunker and Lascuna missed a par-putt.
“That made the big difference. I also thought I had them both but my birdie putt on No. 16 lipped out. Luckily, it was enough in the end,” said Van der Valk who banked P360,000.
He became the only player to win two titles this season, a fitting follow-up to his success at Splendido Taal last May.
Lascuna and Ababa both missed birdie putts that would have forged a playoff on 18.
“Sayang, kinapos,” rued Ababa who settled for even par after opening with two birdies in the first three holes.
“I had a good read and stroke but the ball just didn’t drop,” said Lascuna, referring to his eight-foot birdie putt at the finish.
Down by one at the start of the round, Lascuna tied Ababa with a birdie on 12 but could not make the putts to fall on 14 and 18.
Lascuna and Ababa split the combined second and third prizes worth P372,000.
Keanu Jahns matched Van der Valk’s three-under card to finish solo fourth on 282 and pocketed P106,000 while Angelo Que carded a 70 for fifth at 284 and Ira Alido ended up sixth at 285 after a 71.
Justin Quiban fired the day’s best 68 to snare seventh place at 286, Reymon Jaraula pooled a 287 after a 73 for eighth and Frankie Minoza turned in a 73 to tie Gerald Rosales, who struggled with a 74, at 10th at 288, the legend’s best in a long while.
But it was Van der Valk who hogged the spotlight in the end, proving that any average hitter could win on a course that puts a premium on length.
