Delariarte retains crown pressure-free

SILANG, Cavite — This time, there was no sudden death pressure to endure, just a dogged, gritty rival who just wouldn’t give up.

Still, Jerome Delariarte prevailed in the end, with rains and all that, as he trounced Boyet Saragoza, 3 & 1, in their marathon 36-hole duel yesterday to retain the Philippine Amateur Golf Championship that he almost blew thrice at the Riviera’s tough Langer course here.

A pressure-packed five-foot bogey putt on the par-3 17th — the 35th hole — clinched the victory for Delariarte, who was 3-up with three holes to go but was forced to go another hole when he lost the 34th with a flubbed 8-foot par putt.

"I’m so much relieved that I survived all those challenges," said the worn-out Delariarte, who survived the rigors of playing six straight days, including a couple of 36-hole matches, under the scorching summer heat and under the gun for three straight rounds.

"I made a lot of clutch putts and those made the difference," added Delariarte, referring to hole Nos. 28, 30 and 32 where he rescued pars that kept his 3-hole lead intact.

In contrast, Saragoza, who earlier hinted that the championship will be settled on the putting surface, muffed a couple of attempts that could’ve pulled him within Delariarte although he threatened to within two holes for the last time after winning the 34th hole.

Seizing control early, Delariarte led Saragoza from sunup to sundown although he had to scramble for pars in driving rains in the last two holes to secure the victory and firmed up his claim as the country’s premier amateur shotmaker.

It was a fitting ending to a suspense-filled week where Delariarte pulled of a series of thrilling come-from-behind victories via sudden deaths to reach the final. And it was a big relief for the 24-year-old Southwoods bet to have gained the momentum early on and spared himself of the uncertainty of going through another cliffhanger.

After a trouble-free ride in the 36-hole elims which he topped, Delariarte found the going tough right in the first round of the match play event, needing four extra holes to dispose of the last-ranked player in Jonard Rates, who actually blew an otherwise won game in regulation.

Delariarte then did romp away with a round of 16 match against Erwin Vinluan, whom he beat, 8 & 6, Thursday morning but he needed to pull off another Houdini act by battling from two strokes down to nip arch rival Juvic Pagunsan on the second playoff hole.

His struggle, however, didn’t stop there as he bumped into a talented Marvin Dumandan who nearly toppled him in their semifinal matchup Saturday. But down by three holes with four to play, Delariarte flashed his flair for the dramatics by overcoming that deficit and prevailing on the first playoff hole.

Delariarte thus matched Angelo Que’s back-to-back triumph in 2000-01 in the country’s most prestigious amateur event staged by the National Golf Association of the Philippines and sponsored by DHL, Philippine Sports Commission, WWWExpress and DHL Worldwide.

By re-staking his claim as the country’s No. 1 amateur player the hard way, Delariarte hopes to move on to the big league, if possible this year, knowing fully well of his ability and talent to mix it up with the cream of the crop.

"I think I’m ready (for the pros). I do have plans, but we’ll see," said Delariarte.