Sherwood triumph sends Lascuña to top of OOM

With one victory and three top 10 finishes in the fledgling Philippine golf tour, Tony Lascuña paces the stellar field in the Order of Merit race heading into the fifth leg of the circuit slated May 10-13 at the Manila Southwoods’ Legends Course.

Lascuña, who had posted three victories since he joined the pro ranks in 1997, has amassed P176,500 on the strength of his triumph over Robert Pactolerin in the Smart-Sherwood Classic last month.

He opened his bid with a fifth-place finish in the circuit’s kickoff leg at Southwoods, placed third at the Camp John Hay Open in Baguio and shared fourth place with Cassius Casas in the recent CAP-Forest Hills Open.

Actually, the troika of Rey Pagunsan, Richard Sinfuego and Lascuna, who had led the country’s gold medal quests in a number of international amateur competitions, lord it over the field by winning the first three legs with Pagunsan and Sinfuego scoring breakthrough wins at Southwoods and in Baguio, respectively.

Sinfuego, a two-time national amateur champion, is currently in second place with earnings of P155,850, while Pagunsan, who skipped the third and fourth legs to play in the Japan PGA Tour on a conditional status, is ranked No. 3 with P122,500 in winnings.

With Pagunsan already finding a benefactor to support his stint abroad, Lascuna and Sinfuego hope to keep their top form in a bid to draw their own sponsors that would also help finance their campaign in the international front.

Asian PGA Tour and World Cup veteran Danny Zarate took the fourth spot with earnings of P117,050 after he outlasted Robert Pactolerin in a gruelling three-hole playoff at Forest Hills in the series put up by the Fil-Estate Group of Companies.