SAN PEDRO, Laguna - Antonio Lascuna and Robert Pactolerin put the finishing touches to a rewarding week on Wednesday, topping their respective divisions in the Stronghold Insurance Senior Open convincingly in an unforgiving Hallow Ridge layout.
Lascuna closed out play in the centerpiece 50-59 (Senior) division with a level-par 72, and Pactolerin a 76 in the 60-69 (Super Senior) even as the 18-hole Legends (70-and-above) championship went an extra hole where Fabian del Rosario nipped Dave Hernandez in sudden death.
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The 54-year-old Lascuna, the only man to win the PGT's Order of Merit title five times, put together a four-under-par 212 to win by five shots over Mars Pucay, who submitted a second straight 71. Rico Depilo shot an eagle-spiked 73 to finish another three strokes behind.
"It's been a while since I won," said Lascuna, whose best finish was third at Apo Golf in the Davao stop of the ICTSI Tour a couple of months back. "This is special, for sure, because it gives me the confidence that I still have the game to compete at a high level."
Rey Pagunsan ballooned to a 78 but still salvaged fourth, 13 shots behind the champion, with the big-hitting Orlan Sumcad checking in another four strokes behind after a 74 to round out the Top Five.
"This is definitely special, because this win comes 13 years after my last," the 63-year-old Pactolerin, the 1990 PH Open champion, said in Filipino. "I will cherish this one because competing is really in my blood."
Doming Umadhay was second to Pactolerin after a 79, 10 shots off, with the wily Danilo delos Santos rallying with a 75 to overtake Japan's Tanaka Kosuke with a 237 tally. Kosuke struggled in the front nine and submitted an 81.
Mario Manubay, the second ex-Philippine Open champ in the field, rebounded with an 80 to check in fifth, just two shots behind Rey Janaya, who finished fourth after a 77.
While Lascuna and Pactolerin practically waltzed their way to victories, Del Rosario, a teaching pro at Valley Golf in Antipolo, carved out a routine par on No. 1 as Hernandez missed the green short, to win the division and be the final flight that checked in on another busy day at the tree-lined layout.
"This is for the love of the game," Stronghold Insurance president and general manager Romulo delos Reyes Jr. said in a short address to the field during the awarding rites, where all the participants, counting those who missed the cut, were treated to a sumptuous meal and giveaways.
"We will expand this tournament next year and will try to form a Philippine team that will play in circuits abroad," Delos Reyes added to applause from the players.
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