ANTIPOLO CITY — Amateur Jonar Austria calmly sank a 16-foot downhill putt for birdie in the third extra hole, much to the delight of pro partner Alfredo Repato Jr., as they repulsed the pair of Antonio Lascuña and Martin Guiang for the Forest Hills-PGA of the Philippines Pro-Am title at Forest Hills Golf and Country Club Tuesday.
After finishing with an identical 36-hole 135 total, both pairs engaged in a battle of nerves at the first hole of the Forest Hills’ tough Palmer layout. They made pars in two holes in sudden death before Austria hit the sensational putt that gave him and Repato the victory and the P100,000 top prize.
It was a successful staging of the meet which highlighted the improvements being done at the par-72 Palmer layout.
Pros admired the fairways and greens which they described as “in perfect Championship condition to host big tournaments like the Pro-Am.”
“In the second playoff hole, we were almost exactly at the same spot in the last putt so, at least, I had an idea on how to deal with it,” Austria said.
Lascuña’s approach was closer at 12 feet but Guiang failed to hole it in.
“We gave it our best shot,” Lascuña said.
Sonny Almazan and Alex Ong placed third with 137 (65-72), followed by the 138s of Jong Laput-Jondie Quibol (66-72) and Gabriel Manotoc and Jed Dy (63-75). James Ryan Lam and Jet Mathay combined for 139 (63-76).
Rounding out the top 10 were Ricar Candinato-Edison Tabalin (64-77) and Daniella Uy-Rico See (63-78) at 141 while Paul Echavez-Gus Pacheco (68-74) and Benjie Magada-Dennis Nicomedes (64-78) at 142.
