BACOLOD City – Darren Ong and Ana Marie Aguilar pulled off last-ditch charges to secure spots in the Junior PGT Elite Finals, ruling the ICTSI Negros JPGT Championship in contrasting fashion at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club on Tuesday.
Both golfers didn’t just win the tournament – they crashed the party for the South team rankings, punching their tickets to the Ryder Cup-style national finals.
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For Ong, the final round of the boys’ 7-10 division was less of a shootout and more of a victory lap. Holding a huge 14-stroke lead after Monday's opening round, Ong shot an 80 in scorching conditions after a 76 but still won by 22 strokes on a 156 total over 36 holes.
Anthony Avila carded an 88 to finish a distant second at 178, while Joaquin Limjap took third with a 199 after a 98.
Ong’s win catapulted him from No. 6 to No. 4 in the Visayas-Mindanao Series rankings. Accumulating 35 points across the six-stage circuit, he dislodged the absent Thomas Ngo (26) to claim the fourth and final qualifying spot.
Ong thus joined Ethan Lago, Stephen Clementer and Lucas Revilleza to form the South’s youngest squad, ready to battle the North side on Aug. 17-20 at the Pueblo de Oro Golf and Country Club.
While Ong coasted, homegrown talent Aguilar had to grind it out in the girls' youngest category. Trailing Vanya Go by two strokes entering the final 18 holes, Aguilar locked into a high-stakes showdown of grit, nerves and shifting fortunes that came down to the absolute wire.
The pendulum first swung in Aguilar's favor around the turn. Go, looking steady early on, suddenly suffered back-to-back triple bogeys starting from No. 9. Despite Aguilar opening her back nine with consecutive bogeys, Go’s missteps allowed the local favorite to wrest the lead.
But the drama was far from over. On No. 14, it was Aguilar’s turn to stumble, holing out with a triple bogey of her own, enabling Go to re-claim a one-stroke advantage and setting the stage for a dramatci finish with just two holes left to play.
On the par-4 17th, with the championship hanging in the balance, Aguilar proved she had ice in her veins. She set up a pin-high putt – and with unwavering poise, she drained the crucial birdie.
The pressure shifted entirely to Go, whose nerves finally frayed. Cracking under the tension, Go suffered a heartbreaking three-putt miscue. It was a decisive, two-shot swing that propelled Aguilar back into the lead.
Aguilar secured a gritty, one-stroke victory with a final-round 82 and a 158 total. The triumph capped an incredible two-week blitz for Aguilar, who also dominated the Bacolod leg in Murcia last week.
Go wound up with an 85 for a 159 while Jia Ho carded an 81 to tie Zoey Mascariñas, who faltered with an 84, at 165.
Aguilar goes back to back
Aguilar’s back-to-back victories yielded a massive point haul, vaulting her from No. 5 to No. 2 in the final standings with 40 points, joining top-ranked Soleil Molde (42) and the resilient Go (39) in the finals in Cagayan de Oro.
Unfortunately, Aguilar’s late-season surge meant ultimate heartbreak for Zoey Mascariñas. Mascariñas settled for 8 points to end up with 30.
Aguilar's sudden rise completely pushed Mascariñas out of the Magic Four, leaving her stranded in fifth place overall. Ironically, the absent Akeisha Yocte managed to safely hang onto the fourth and final ticket, finishing with 33 points.
Cebu’s Marqaela Dy shot a 76 for a 150 total to top the girls' 11-14 division and advance to the grand finals. She finished two shots clear of Kimberly Barroquillo, who carded a 75 for a 152 total, while Andrea Borromeo secured third place at 153 after a 78.
With her third leg win, including victories in Mactan and Alta Vista, Dy amassed 45 total points to clinch the division's top spot. Brittany Tamayo and Rafelle Batican finished second and third with 40 and 39 points, respectively, while Zuri Bagaloyos secured the final qualifying spot despite skipping the final leg, holding off Barroquillo’s last-ditch bid of 32 points.
In the boys’ 11-14 division, Cagayan de Oro standout Ken Guillermo primed up for the finals by staging a thrilling comeback. Trailing by two strokes early on, Guillermo closed with a 79 at the par-70 layout to finish with a 164, securing a two-shot victory and his second leg win following his triumph at Alta Vista.
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