Late birdies give Zaragosa 2-shot win

MANILA, Philippines - Rupert Zaragosa birdied the last two holes to fire a five-under 67 as he beat Andres Saldaña by two to capture his first WWWExpress-DHL RVF Amateur Golf Championship crown at Canlubang’s North course yesterday.

Zaragosa fought back from two strokes down with solid shotmaking and superb putting, including on the last two holes then watched Saldaña wilt under pressure to complete his stirring come-from-behind victory.

The 16-year-old Zaragosa finished with a four-day haul of 279, edging Saldaña, who thwarted his fancied rival majority of the way only to falter in the end. He wound up with a 71 for a 281.

Zaragosa made a tap-in birdie on the par-5 17th to seize a one-stroke lead but approached way past the cup on the final hole off a heavy rough after an errant drive.

Saldaña also mishit his tee-shot on the 18th and needed to approach from a bare lie, the ball resting on the lip of the back bunker.

Zaragosa then got a read on Saldaña’s putt, which went about six feet past the cup, and the Don Bosco Canlubang student made the most out of it.

“I told myself that, after getting an idea of the speed because of Andres’ putt, that my putt had a chance of going in,” said Zaragosa.

Saldaña, who started the day with a two-shot lead, finished with a three-putt bogey to finish two strokes behind after leading the tournament from the start.

Magno Arancon of Del Monte checked in third at 289 after a 76.

The event, presented by the MVP Sports Foundation and backed by Pancake House Golf Depot and Pacsports, was held in honor of the late Rod Feliciano, the former president of DHL Philippines who also served as president of the organizing National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Pauline Del Rosario also completed a wire-to-wire triumph in the ladies division as she beat Asian Youth Games gold medalist Miya Legaspi by eight with a closing 72 on two birdies against two bogeys.

The 15-year-old mainstay of Team ICTSI and a La Salle-Zobel student, never yielded the lead since taking charge with a 70 in the first round and held on despite a 73 Thursday before matching Legaspi’s closing 72 to win by eight with a 215.

Legaspi wound up with a 223 for second while Felicia Medalla rallied with a two-under 70 to place third at 228 and Mikhaela Fortuna carded a 77 for a 242.

Park Min-ung, a Korean expat playing out of Riviera, finished tied for fourth with Leonard Lofranco at 292 after a 69. Lofranco submitted a 72.

John Kier Abdon finished with a 294 tally after a 75, with Lee Su-hong shooting a 76 to be another two strokes back. Gabriel Manotoc and Miggy Yee tied at 300 after a 75 and 76, respectively.