Title, fat cash for Casas

CANLUBANG — From a poor loser to a megabuck winner.

That’s how life changed for Cassius Casas in a span of seven weeks as he erased the stigma of a string of sorry finishes on the local tour by winning the tournament that mattered most — the Don Pocholo Razon Memorial Invitational Golf Championship — and bagging the richest purse — P1 million — staked on local tour this year.

There was no spectacular shot uncorked by the dusky Davaoeño shotmaker on another wind-swept day at The Country Club here, only gimme birdies on a couple of par-5s linking both nines and a brave run of pars down the stretch for a 72. But, by and large, he prevailed simply because his rivals cracked up in wicked wind and fell down like a deck of cards on the sleek putting surface of the posh layout.

He won by four, turning what had been an error-laden yet thrilling week of golf into a ghastly rout, washing away all the pent-up emotions of his forgettable run of runner-up finishes he largely attributed to his being impatient.

"Dati-rati kasi umiinit kaagad ang ulo ko pag humahabol at nangigigil pag lamang kaya natatalo. Ngayong nilaro ko lang ang course dahil sa lakas nga ng hangin. Hindi ko rin pinansin kung sino ang nasa itaas o humahabol para walang pressure," said Casas.

Casas finished with a 289, the best that the pros could offer under harsh playing condition, winning by four shots over Antonio Lascuna and Benjie Magada, who shared the second and third places at 293 and halved the combined prize of P900,000.

The four-shot victory was an anti-climatic ending to a tournament that started with a lot of promise as the very player fancied to give Casas a run for his money uncharacteristically folded up right on the fourth hole -- the killer par-4 -- where Gerald Rosales fumbled with a fat seven. He never recovered from that disaster and wound up with a 78 and from No. 1 in the third round, he wound up tied for fourth with three over at 294.

That included Cookie La’O, the least expected to contend for the crown but in one stretch stunned the favored bets when he seized the lead with a birdie on the par-5 eighth. But, as what his name suggests, he crumbled on the next when he four-putted and wound up with six on the par-4 ninth.

Still, La’O tried to redeem himself by coming up with birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to move within one off Casas but he lost that momentum just as quickly as he gained it when he bogeyed the next two holes. He finished with a 76.

Richard Sinfuego rallied with a 70 to leapfrog from the tailend to a share of fourth along with Mars Pucay, who matched par 72. Each took home P180,000.

Next to Casas, Magada emerged as the biggest winner in the day of changing fortunes as he fired a 71 to get a share of the second prize pie with Lascuna, the other player who caught up with Casas with a birdie on No. 8 only to lose his poise at the backside with bogeys on No. 11 and 16.

But the day easily belonged to Casas, who finally shed off the image of a bridesmaid that has hounded his campaign for quite sometime.

One behind Rosales at the start of the day, Casas surged ahead as the erstwhile leader triple-bogeyed the No. 4 when he drove into the hazard, missed the green twice and missed a 10-foot putt for bogey.

In contrast, Casas tamed the crosswind with a perfect drive, then hacked his approach shot within six feet, which he flubbed. Still, he was able to seize the lead, fought neck-and-neck with Lascuna and La’O with a tap-in birdie on the eighth before wresting the lead back for good with a gimme birdie on No. 10.

With the title virtually in the bag, Casas used a 2-iron on the mound on the par-4 18th but still wound up with a bogey, the last black mark in an error-filled week but a score he gamely wrote on his scorecard on his way to the bank.