ANTIPOLO CITY — Guido van der Valk weathered a tense back-nine meltdown in sweltering conditions and fended off a fierce late charge from three determined rivals to secure a nail-biting one-stroke victory at the ICTSI Forest Hills Classic on Friday.

What began as a comfortable march to the title quickly turned into a gritty battle for the 45-year-old Dutchman, who saw his four-shot lead evaporate over six holes before steadying himself with a clutch par on the 18th hole to seal a hard-fought 70 and claim the crown.

“No. 18 isn’t the easiest hole—there’s a lot of trouble out there. But I hit a good drive and followed it with a really nice second shot. That helped me settle down and close it out,” van der Valk said. The Dutch veteran, who last won several seasons ago and came agonizingly close to a third win at The Country Club Invitational in January, finally ensured he finished atop the leaderboard.

Van der Valk entered the week on a strong run, having tied for fourth at the Philippine Golf Tour’s opening leg at Pradera Verde in February and finishing runner-up to Angelo Que at Eagle Ridge last April.

He looked poised for a commanding finish after matching Aidric Chan’s sizzling 31 on the front nine and extending his lead with a birdie on the 10th. But momentum shifted dramatically as van der Valk bogeyed the 12th, 15th, and 17th holes, opening the door for Keanu Jahns, Angelo Que, and Reymon Jaraula to mount late charges on the challenging Nicklaus course.

Facing a suddenly wide-open tournament, van der Valk clung to a slender one-shot lead heading to the par-4 18th. Under immense pressure, he drove down the fairway, then dialed in a laser-precise approach that landed just three feet left of the pin. He calmly two-putted for par to secure a 12-under 272 total and the P430,000 winner’s purse.

That final par, seemingly routine, proved heartbreakingly decisive for Jahns and Que, whose scorching rounds came within inches of forcing a playoff.

“I started off a bit shaky with my approach shots but managed to save pars. From No. 5 onwards, I really found my rhythm with four straight birdies,” van der Valk said. “But I got a bit defensive on the back nine and started getting into trouble. The bogeys made the finish harder, but I hung in there.”

Asked about Que’s late surge, van der Valk admitted, “At first, I wasn’t too worried, especially being four-under with nine holes to play. But once I made those bogeys, it definitely got tougher. Still, I managed to hold on.”

Despite the back-nine struggles, van der Valk felt his overall solid play was key to finally ending a long title drought.

Jahns, after a slow front nine 34, exploded with five birdies in eight holes on the back nine, including a closing birdie, to shoot 66 and finish at 11-under 273.

Que, meanwhile, fired the round of the day—a sizzling 64 highlighted by seven birdies—also finishing one shot off the lead. The three-time Asian Tour winner had looked poised for another comeback but was left to rue missed chances by the slimmest of margins.

Jahns and Que split the combined second and third prizes totaling P430,000.

Jaraula, tied with van der Valk after 54 holes, stumbled early with bogeys on the front nine and the 12th. He staged a late rally with birdies on 14, 16, and 17 to tie Jahns and Que at 11-under but dropped to solo fourth with a 72 after a failed sand save on the last hole.

Jeffren Lumbo shot a 66 to climb to solo fifth at 275, while Chan, who started strong but faltered with a 40 on the back nine, settled for sixth at 276 after a 71.

Fidel Concepcion carded a 67 to finish seventh at 278, followed by Russel Bautista (70-282) and Carl Corpus (72-283). Clyde Mondilla matched par 71 to tie for 10th at 284 alongside Atsushi Ueda and Justin Quiban, who posted rounds of 74 and 75, respectively.