Zarate bags title via sudden death

ANTIPOLO – In the end, it was a question of stamina as Danny Zarate outlasted Robert Pactolerin in their grueling sudden death match that took three holes to finish under the smoldering summer sun, winning the CAP-Forest Hills Classic crown with a routine par on the par 4 No. 12 and snapping a long title drought for one of the best talents to have come out of the ranks.

"At last nadali rin," an exhausted Zarate said after the playoff and the victory that came three years after he last won in the 1998 President’s Cup at Wack Wack. But the dusky Riviera pro, who led in the first round but started the final day one shot behind joint leaders Pactolerin and Gerald Rosales, had to endure so much pressure, come up with a rare two-eagle effort, and display steely nerves in the closing holes of regulation and in the entire stretch of the sudden death to bag the crown worth P100,000 on a closing 68 and a 272.

That closing four-under par card at the challenging Forest Hills layout, spiked by eagles on the par 4 No. 3 and par 5 No. 10, proved not enough for Zarate to clinch the outright victory as Pactolerin battled from three shots down with eight holes to go to force the sudden death with a 69 with Rosales turning a golden chance into a waste with a poor approach shot on the 72nd hole for a 71-274.

"Sobrang init, tapos gutom pa," rued Pactolerin, the rigors of going up-and-down on No. 12 under the heat of the sun finally taking their toll on his third return where he opted for a 3-iron instead of a 2-iron in tackling the 220-yard distance.

The shot did escape the four bunkers guarding the green but came short of it and the portly pro, a former Philippine Open champion, needed to pitch from 40 yards to get within a par but he flubbed a five-footer, enabling Zarate, who reached the green in two with a solid drive and a superb 5-iron shot, to clinch the victory with a routine par.

Pactolerin, whose campaign is supported by businessman Willy Tan, settled for P50,000, his second runner-up finish after placing third behind Tony Lascuña in the Sherwood Classic two weeks ago.

It was indeed a hotly-disputed crown, as hot as the scorching heat that added up to a slew of challenges one has to endure on this hazard-laden, par-71 layout with Rosales, one down behind Zarate and Pactolerin heading into the 72nd hole, staring on a probable two-shot swing with an 85-yard approach shot to set up a birdie after outdriving his veteran rivals.

But he uncharacteristically pitched poorly, the ball hitting the edge of the elevated, bunker-laden green and bouncing back into the fairway, 20 yards off the cup, a shot that virtually shot the lights out in Rosales’ bid. In frustration, he flubbed a par-putt from four feet and wound up with a 71 and 274 for third worth P34,000.

"I was trying to set up an uphill birdie putt rather than a downhill but I pitched poorly," said Rosales, who sparked hopes of a successful debut on the new local golf circuit after catching up Pactolerin at the helm in the third round with a 67.

That costly miscue paved the way for the Zarate-Pactolerin showdown after both players, whose respective approach shots on the 18th bounced onto the green and into the rare bunker in the middle of the green, rescued pars from 6 and 5 feet, respectively.

Both overshot the green on the first playoff hole on No. 12 but made pars, bringing their duel again on No. 18, which Zarate and Pactolerin likewise parred with the latter unleashing a gutsy approach shot from the fairway bunker to within 14 feet.

But as Zarate stayed focused and drove into the middle of the fairway on his third trip on No. 12, Pactolerin began to waver as he found himself outdriven by his rival before hitting his 3-iron shot from behind that landed in between the bunkers. Zarate then pulled out his trusted 5-iron and after a couple of practice swings, he hacked it 25 feet past the cup.