Pugad snares Fil-Am seniors title

BAGUIO, Philippines – Pugo Adventure drew a solid 31-point output from Fred Puckett as it rallied from four points down to beat Megafiber with a closing 106 and snare the seniors Fil-Championship crown by two in the 65th San Miguel Fil-Am Invitational golf tournament at the Baguio Country Club here yesterday.

Goody Ignacio shot a 27, Ed Montenegro added a 25 and Park Jong Won birdied the ninth and final hole to salvage a 23 as they backed Puckett’s 31 for that 106 and a four-day total of 437.

That was two points ahead of Megafiber, who struggled with 100 and blew its title-retention in the face of Pugo Adventure’s sizzling final round charge. Rene Unson led Megafiber with 28 points while Mari Hechanova, Tony Olives and Albert Garcia turned in a 27, 25 and 20, respectively, for a 100 and a 435.

Puckett, 65, went on to bag the individual crown, beating Hechanova and Unson by two with a 120 total. It was John Hay golf instructor’s eighth individual plum in 11 years and fourth overall team championship.

“We just had to play our game because the pressure was on them,” said Puckett, referring to Mergafiber’s four-point lead after 54 holes.  

“We were just trying to catch up, there was no pressure,” added Puckett.

“We were down by six on the first day. We caught up on them on day two then we fell behind by four again but won with a six-point lead in the last round. We were just lucky,” said Pugo team captain Eugene Martin, a retired police general.

“We lost to a better team. We really played very hard but still fell short,” said Megafiber captain Garcia. “But we will be back next year.”

Meanwhile, Masakazu Saso of Manila Southwoods outscored Philippine Navy’s Rodolfo Kalinga, 28-24, as the Carmona-based squad took the Am Championship with a 368 total at John Hay course.

Freddie Mendoza added a 24 while Erwyn Lumanog and Antonio Hernandez chipped in 22 and 20, respectively, for Southwoods, which closed out with a 94.

Philippine Navy settled for second with a 364 despite a 102 as Kalinga fell short against Saso in their crucial duel that broke the 364-all count.

Saver’s Comclark finished with an 83 for a 340 to place thrid while Forest Hill ended up fourth with a 337 after a 94.

Philippine Navy’s Eduardo Gador, meanwhile, nipped Saso by one for the individual title. Gador finished with a 98 after a final round 26 to edge Saso.

NBI Golf Team pooled a 157 to clinch the Fil G crown by a whopping 43-point romp. Cesar Valencerina shot a 29 and led the team’s 86 and 379 total.