Pacto ends long drought, wins by 2

TRECE Martires, Cavite – Robert Pactolerin showed he still got what it takes to win, outclassing Marvin Dumandan and Gene Bondoc with a bogey-less four-under par 68 and thwarting Elmer Salvador and Ferdie Aunzo in the closing holes to capture the ICTSI Sherwood Classic crown at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club here yesterday.

Just one ahead of his young rivals at the start of the round, Pactolerin, 47, went to work early by ramming in a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 1 in a big rebound from a double-bogey mishap the previous round. He added three more birdies along the way, shrugged off a couple of missed birdie chances inside five feet and rescued pars in three times that he went out of regulation.

He finished with a 34-34 for a 54-hole aggregate of nine-under 207, beating Salvador and Aunzo by two strokes as Dumandan and Bondoc lost their poise in the face of Pactolerin’s solid finish and limped home with a pair of 75s.

Salvador, four behind at the start of the round, fired a six-under 66 spiked by an eagle-birdie feat from No. 15 but ran out of holes with Aunzo, who closed out with a 68, enabling Pactolerin to cruise to his first victory, worth P164,000, since beating Mars Pucay in the Toyota Match Play at Wack Wack in 1997.

“I didn’t get impatient despite the long title drought because I know that I still have what it takes to win,” said Pactolerin, one of the most revered names on the local and Asian tours in the 90s.

With local tournaments becoming too few and far between following the scrapping of the Philip Morris golf circuit, the former Philippine Open champion and two-time RP Masters winner went to teaching at various golf clubs to keep him going, sharing his knowledge and expertise mostly with Korean students.

Settling for his old trusted MacGregor clubs, Pactolerin struggled in the last few local tournaments, including the RP Open and The Country Club Invitational, finishing joint 14th in the ICTSI Valley Challenge, which heralded the revival of the golf tour last month.

But with his string of under-par rounds at the challenging Sherwood Hills that included a 70 and a 69, Pactolerin proved that he can still be a force to reckon with, particularly in the current circuit backed by Srixon, Callaway, Maruman, Gatorade, MJ Carr Golf Management Inc., Inquirer Golf, Golf Digest, Golf Punk, Motorola, Samsung and Maya Ads and promoted by World Sport Group.

“Ang palo andyan lang naman yan eh. One only has to persevere and keep believing in himself,” said Pactolerin, hoping to sustain his form for another shot at the title when the circuit, put up by International Container Terminal Services, Inc., resumes in Davao City next month for the third leg at the Apo Golf and Country Club.

Salvador, who has a string of sorry finishes after a solid start, birdied four of the first 10 holes, dropped a shot on No. 14 but eagled the next from 12 feet before knocking down a 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th for that 66 and a 209.

That was the same output put in by Aunzo, who fell short of his bid to duplicate ICTSI golf stablemate Rufino Bayron’s title feat at Valley as the reigning national champion churned out a four-under card under benign playing condition.