Dumandan, Dela Paz coast to victory

CANLUBANG — Marvin Dumandan and Bambee dela Paz cruised to victories in the DHL-WWWExpress National Amateur Golf Championships despite a closing 74 and a 77, respectively, yesterday in an anti-climactic ending to an event that started out with a lot of promise at Cangolf’s north course here.

With their rivals failing to pounce on their sputtering windups, Dumandan preserved the two-shot lead he built behind a fiery 66 in the third round, even padding it to five after 12 holes before coasting along to beat Singaporean Quincy Quek by two shots with a 287.

Not even his three bogeys in the last five holes could prevent the 26-year-old Riviera bet from clinching his first-ever crown in the ranks as Quek and the rest of his pursuers either faltered or ran out of holes. Quek, one of the five leaders in a topsy-turvy second round, also carded a 74 and wound up second with a 289.

Like Dumandan, Dela Paz also dominated the ladies side despite a five-over par finish as the 15-year-old incoming senior at Miriam College hardly found a challenge en route to scoring a breakthrough victory in her young career.

Jun Bernis, winner here in 2004, fired a one-under par 71 but Dumandan’s six-shot lead proved to be too big a margin to overcome as the home club bet settled for third place with a 290.

"Masayang-masaya ako at nanalo din sa wakas (I’m so happy that I finally won)," said Dumandan, whose back-to-back birdies from No. 4, that gave him a five-shot lead over Quek, all but settled the issue in the 11th staging of the event sponsored by DHL and WWWExpress.

Dela Paz, now training under noted swing coach Bong Lopez, matched par 36 after nine holes in an awesome display of guts and determination for a young, inexperienced player. By the time the pressure caught up with her and she wavered with five bogeys at the back, Dela Paz was already busy preparing for the big bash.

She wound up with a 228 that included rounds of 77 and 74 in the 54-hole event conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils. (NGAP), beating Anya Tanpinco by four shots.

Tanpinco, veteran of many national teams, carded a 75 and nipped RP Ladies Open champion Debbie de Villa in the two-hole playoff for second. De Villa closed out with a 77.

Anthony Fernando shot a 70 to finish fourth in the men’s side with a 291 followed by Jay Bayron who matched par 72 for fifth with a 293.

Gene Bondoc and Ferdinand Aunzo fired the tournament-best scores of 68 and salvaged a share of sixth place with Mark Fernando (76) with identical 295s. Tonton Asistio came in ninth with a 296 after a 72 while Joel Opaco carded a 75 for 10th with a 297.