La Salle dominates; Granada keeps crown

TAGAYTAY CITY — De La Salle University asserted its dominance in the women’s division with a commanding sweep of both individual and team honors, but College of Saint Benilde’s Sean Granada made sure the Green Archers would not have it all, pulling away late to retain the men’s crown in the ICTSI Intercollegiate Tournament at the Midlands and Lucky 9 courses here Thursday.

Phoebe Bucay completed La Salle’s romp in the women’s play by overcoming final-round pressure and surviving a difficult closing stretch to card a 110 and secure a three-stroke victory over teammate Stacey Chan for the individual title.

But just as La Salle appeared headed for a clean sweep, Granada spoiled the script.

Locked in a tense duel early with La Salle’s Gabriel Canlas, the St. Benilde standout steadied himself down the stretch while his rival faltered, turning a close contest into a decisive six-shot victory with a 74 and a 296 to successfully defend the men’s championship he won in a playoff at Summit Point last year.

“This is my first IIT tournament and it’s very competitive. I was nervous and really pressured from the start,” said Bucay, a Business Analytics freshman.

The 19-year-old rookie campaigner showed composure beyond her years throughout the four-day tournament organized by ICTSI and the Philippine Golf Foundation. After leading the opening round and briefly surrendering the top spot to Enderun’s Kristyanna Herrera in the second round, Bucay regained control with a gutsy third-round effort and never relinquished it.

Bracing for a final-round challenge from both Herrera and Chan, Bucay minimized costly mistakes over the demanding Midlands backside and Lucky 9 layout, where one bad hole can quickly derail a round.

Herrera failed to replicate her second-round surge, leaving Chan as Bucay’s chief challenger. Chan tried to mount a late charge with identical 52s for a 104, but Bucay’s sizeable cushion proved enough.

Despite struggling home with a backside 60 in her highest round of the tournament, Bucay finished with a 72-hole aggregate of 423 to clinch the crown by three strokes over Chan, who pooled a 426. Herrera also shot a 110 to take bronze with a 428.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to win because I’m not the type of person to go like tournaments. I’m not really competitive in golf,” said Bucay, who only took up the sport for fun during Grade 11.

But the breakthrough victory may signal a change in mindset.

“Yeah, it definitely gave me a confidence boost for upcoming tournaments,” she said.

Bucay previously carded rounds of 101, 109 and 103 before weathering the pressure-packed finale.