Que blitzes La’O, faces Iggy in semis

Angelo Que moved a win from reaching his third straight trip to the finals after turning back eliminations topnotcher Cookie La’O, 4-and-2 yesterday in the quarterfinals of the Philippine amateur golf championship at the Alabang Country Club course.

Que used three-hole blitz from the 10th to turn an otherwise close match into a relatively easy win as the defending champion forged a semifinal duel with 53-year-old Iggy Clavecilla at 7 a.m. today.

The relatively short and flat course tailor-fit for his game built on accuracy more than power, Clavecilla added promising Del Monte native Joel Opaco to his list of victims by taking a 3 and 1 decision.

Juvic Pagunsan and Solomon Gines, the frontliners of the Canlubang team, will meet in the other semis encounter at 7:08.

Pagunsan, the No. 3 seed and seen as the most likely challenger to Que’s title-retention drive, birdied the last hole to preserve a one up victory over last year’s losing finalist, Jerome Delariarte.

Gines, meanwhile, had Cangolf teammate Abe Rosal under control in most of their duel to pull off a-2-up triumph.

"I played very well today and the breaks went my way in the back nine," said Que.

Que and La’O were all even through nine holes until a decisive stretch sent the Fil-Chinese national team veteran pulling away.

Que saved par from the trap on the 10th to move ahead then recovered from a poor drive on the 11th with a brilliant chip-in for birdie from 15 yards. Buoyed by the sudden twist, he hit a superb tee-shot on the par-3 12th that set him up for an easy birdie and a cruise to victory.