Lascuña claims Taiwan crown

It’s been a long time and what makes this win a lot sweeter was that I made it here in Taiwan

TONY Lascuña weathers the comeback of his rivals.

TAINAN, Taiwan — Tony Lascuña came through with two big shots to fend off two gutsy Thai rivals and withstand a charging Taiwanese in a flight ahead, winning the Nan Pao TPGA (PGA of Taiwan) Open crown by one with a bogey-free 70 at the Nan Pao Golf Club here yesterday.

Those bailout shots bucked the Filipino ace’s errant driving in the last two holes that made the title chase a lot more interesting and gripping as these gave Ratchapol Jantavara and Liu Yu-Jui a share of the lead at 17-under overall and a crack at the crown that was remained up for grabs until the final putt.

But Lascuña proved steadier in the end, coming through with a near-perfect lob shot from 45 yards on No. 17 after hooking his drive near the hazard to salvage a tap-in par, a brilliant save that somehow shattered Jantavara’s confidence as the Thai, who fought back from two strokes down to force a tie with a four-under card after 10 holes, flubbed a four-footer for par to drop back by one.

Another hooked Lascuna drive on the par-5 18th that rolled under a tree gave the long-hitting Thai — and Liu, who closed out with a 68 ahead of the final group — another shot at the lead. But Lascuña pulled off another spectacular shot — drawing a 9-iron shot from 120 yards that rolled from the front of the green to the right edge then raised his arms in triumph after completing a two-putt par in the $100,000 event which served as the fifth leg of Philippine Golf Tour Asia and sixth stop of TPGA.

Counting his two birdies at the front, Lascuña closed out with a 34-36 for a 17-under 271 total worth $17,500 in a victory that washed away two years of struggle to regain the form that netted him a number of local titles and three PGT Order of Merit crown from 2013-2014 and in 2016.

“It’s been a long time and what makes this win a lot sweeter was that I made it here in Taiwan,” said Lascuña. “But coming here, I was really confident of my form and my chances.”

But he later admitted to have been surprised by his errant drives in the last two holes but kept his composure and didn’t let those miscues unnerve him a bit.

“I was actually steady off the tee since Day One but that’s golf and the pressure that goes with it,” he said. “But I told myself to just stay focused and I knew I could salvage pars in the last two holes.”

He did – to the delight of the local gallery that rooted for the amiable Davaoeno shotmaker all day but to the chagrin of the Thais, who had hoped to sweep the two PGT Asia legs here after Wisut Artjanawat topped the Daan TPGA Open in Taichung last May.