Lumbo seeks PGT breakthrough in Pueblo

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines — Jeffren Lumbo returns to the Philippine Golf Tour hungrier and more determined than ever as he seeks to turn back-to-back heartbreaks into a breakthrough in the ICTSI Pueblo de Oro Championship that tees off today here at Pueblo de Oro Golf and Country Club.

The lean but big-hitting Sarangani ace has been knocking hard on the door, finishing runner-up in the last two PGT legs after late miscues cost him what could have been his second career title – bowing to Art Arbole in Negros Occidental and to Jhonnel Ababa in Iloilo.

“Hindi ko na iniisip yung back-to-back second place ko papunta ng Pueblo de Oro. Basta focus lang ako sa laro ko at mag-enjoy. Sana lang mag-click lahat para may chance na manalo,” said Lumbo, whose resolve remains unshaken despite the painful close calls.

Lumbo has been in top form all season. After bagging his maiden crown in last year’s season-ending ICTSI South Pacific Championship via a dramatic five-hole playoff over Russell Bautista, he has posted three Top 10s in the first five legs this year, including a runner-up finish to Lloyd Go at Pinewoods, proving his breakthrough was no fluke.

But redemption won’t come easy in the P2.5-million championship. Arbole and Ababa banner a talent-laden field riding high on momentum, while Keanu Jahns, back from a near-miss in the DP World Tour Qualifying, and former Tour champions Clyde Mondilla, Rupert Zaragosa, Zanieboy Gialon and Guido van der Valk loom as serious threats.

Adding prestige to the four-day event is golf legend Frankie Miñoza, whose rare PGT appearance brings star power to one of Mindanao’s premier courses, as he tests himself against a new generation of pros and rising amateurs in what promises to be a high-level shootout.