Aussie snares Open crown with awesome 64

LIPA CITY—Gerald Rosales had all the stuff going his way — momentum, steady game, crowd support and Jenny Rosales.

But those proved not enough to even rattle a tough Adam Le Vesconte, who simply stayed focused and fired a brilliant seven-under par 64 yesterday to win the Philippine Open on his very first try.

Not even an opening hole bogey could unsettle the 34-year-old Le Vesconte, who started the round two shots off overnight leader and compatriot Jason Dawes and one ahead of Rosales but took charge with three birdies in his last five holes at the front side of Mt. Malarayat.

It was smooth sailing for the smooth-swinging shotmaker from Queensland from there although Le Vesconte, a two-time winner of the South Wales Open back home in search of a big victory abroad, had to thwart off Rosales’ spirited charge with a stirring 31 at the back.

He finished with a 272, winning by four strokes over Rosales, whose second straight 67 and a 276 netted him a runner up finish worth $21,600 in the $200,000 tournament which started with a promise of a shootout among at least eight players but ended up to be a two-horse affair.

No, make it a one-man show.

"It’s a very, very good day especially when you win," said Le Vesconte, whose dazzling final round performance matched compatriot Peter Thomson’s closing 64 in winning the 1964 Open at Wack Wack in a playoff victory over Doug Sanders.

And it rewarded him a whopping $31,500, his biggest paycheck in an otherwise unproductive three-year career on the Asian Tour. He also became the first Australian to win the fabled event since Rob Whitlock topped the 1996 Open at Southwoods.

Rosales, trying to top this foreign-flavored Open after winning the all-Filipino championship in 2000 at Riviera, kept putting the pressure on the Australian with a steady game in a flight ahead, birdying No. 5 and going out with a 34.

He stayed within striking distance despite Le Vesconte’s birdie-binge on Nos. 5, 7 and 8, as Rosales, as if welcoming the arrival of his sister on No. 12, tapped in a three-footer for birdie to close within one stroke off the pace.

He was playing so solid that you cannot stop him," blurted Jenny, the two-time LPGA champ and last year’s PSA Sportswoman of the Year awardee who arrived yesterday for a much-deserved break from the grueling LPGA circuit. She headed straight here and joined the big gallery in the third-to-last flight.

But that hardly mattered for Le Vesconte, who combined luck with talent in rolling in a spectacular 25-footer on No. 12, pounced on Rosales’ flubbed birdie putt on the par-5 13th with another birdie and built enough cushion — four strokes — with another 15-footer on No. 15.

After a regulation par on the next, Le Vesconte holed out with back-to-back birdies for good measure.

"He deserved to win," said Rosales, who was nevertheless satisfied with his showing here which he hopes will boost his confidence as he resumes his campaign on the Asian Tour two weeks from now.

It was indeed an impressive performance by the 27-year-old Rosales, who has had a series of mediocre performances in this year’s Asian Tour, missing the cut in the Myanmar Open and finishing down in 42nd place in last week’s Macau Open.

But with his runner-up finish this week and brandishing a new swing buddy Gerard Cantada helped fine-tune in the last three months, Rosales is confident to come out strong in his next tournaments abroad.

So does Le Vesconte.

"I just stayed focused on my routine all week and didn’t falter," said Le Vesconte, who could not wait to take the first flight back home to savor the sweet taste of a first-ever victory in a tournament of this magnitude.

The other contenders didn’t only waver. They faded one after the other.

Dawes, one up over Thai Boonchu Ruangkit after 54 holes, limped with a 37 after 9 holes and struggled the rest of the way, finishing third at 278 worth $12,000. Americans Ron Won and Bryan Saltus tied for fourth with 282s after 70 and 72, respectively, with each receiving $8,780.

Ruangkit hobbled with a 76 and slid to a joint sixth with four others, including amateur Juvic Pagunsan, at 283. Pagunsan, who will spearhead the RP team’s bid in Pan West Malaysian Open this week, re-staked his claim as the best amateur in the land by finishing in the top 10 after a 74 although it paled in comparison to his strong runner-up finish to American Edward Michaels in last year’s Open at Riviera.

The other 283 scorers were Danny Chia of Malaysia (68), Andrew Buckle of Australia (71) and Canadian Darren Griff (74).