Third time’s the charm: Ramos turns heartbreak into win

Sean Ramos knows how painful it is to lose a golf tournament in a playoff.

He had done it twice.

So when the Filipino found himself in contention again at an Asian Development Tour event in Egypt two weeks ago, he knew one thing: He really didn’t want another playoff.

“I just knew I didn’t want to be in a playoff again! Haha,” Ramos said. “So I told myself to play good enough so I won’t be in a position that I’m tied again.”

This time, he made sure it didn’t come to that.

Ramos won in Egypt for his first professional and international title, finally putting an end to a string of near-misses.

“It feels so good. One of the best feelings. If not, the best feeling in the world,” he said. “It made every heartache worth it.”

What makes the victory even more satisfying is that Ramos wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence when he arrived in Egypt.

“My confidence was not as high as other weeks coming into Egypt,” he said.

Something even felt off the night before the opening round.

“We were fixing my feels in the hotel lobby because something didn’t feel right,” Ramos said.

But once the tournament started, things began to click.

The moment Ramos really started believing that this could finally be his week came after he birdied the 13th hole to reach six under in the final round and open a three-shot lead.

“That’s when I felt that it was my week,” he said.

When he finally secured the victory, though, it took a while for the moment to sink in.

“I couldn’t believe it at first. I couldn’t even feel my hands,” Ramos said. “After realizing I won, I just told myself, ‘I finally won internationally.’”

The breakthrough also came after a tough 2025 season, when Ramos lost his Asian Tour card.

Losing something he had worked so hard for “was always the worst,” he said. But after accepting the setback, he gave himself a new goal: Put together a good 2026 season and earn his way back to the main tour.

He did just that.

“I saw the willpower and grit I have,” Ramos said. “It takes a lot of grit to keep working hard even when things aren’t going well.”

Now, he is headed back to the Asian Tour in 2027 with something extra — the confidence that he belongs there.

“I’m returning to the Asian Tour thankful, confident and knowing I can compete,” he said.

Laurea’s belief

Ramos also had someone beside him who never stopped believing the breakthrough would come.

Just before Egypt, he actually asked his partner, Laurea, when she thought his first professional win would happen.

“I wondered and questioned if my win will come this year,” Ramos said.

Her answer never changed.

She believed his win would come, even after the two playoff heartbreaks.

“After the two playoffs, she was what kept me going,” Ramos said. “She says the same thing every event. That my win will come and she’s sure of it.”

And Laurea does much more than simply travel with him.

“She makes sure all I have to do is play golf,” Ramos said.

She handles his visas, bookings, hotels and travel plans. She prepares his meals on practice days and even writes down his lessons with his coach.

“People don’t see that she really does it all,” he said. “She would even personally go to the embassies to make sure my visas get out on time.”

For Ramos, having someone with him on tour also makes the long weeks of traveling a little easier.

“Weeks of traveling gets tough, so it’s the best to have her with me,” he said.

So when he finally broke through in Egypt, Laurea cried tears of joy.

“I kind of knew she was going to cry,” Ramos said. “She sacrifices a lot to get me to be the best and not everyone sees that.”

That made the victory even more special.

“It means everything,” Ramos said. “To be able to share a breakthrough with someone who has been praying for it to happen just as much as you is the best feeling.”

Still hungry

Winning his first professional title hasn’t changed Ramos’ mindset.

If anything, it made him hungrier.

With two events left, he wants to finish the Asian Development Tour season as high as possible in the Order of Merit.

“I’ll give the No. 1 Order of Merit my best shot,” he said.

And if he could talk to the version of himself who went through the playoff losses and the disappointment of losing his Asian Tour card, his message would be simple.

“Be patient. Trust that whatever I’m doing is right and eventually my win will come.”

It finally did.

And Ramos knows exactly how much the moment means.

“It’s really one of the best feelings,” he said. “It’s a first in my career to win professionally, so that’s an unbeatable feeling.”

And while the victory belongs to him, he knows Laurea shares it just as much.

“With Laurea, I know the happiness I feel she will always feel double of that,” he said. “And she will always do everything to get me to be the best.”