RP golfers fifth; Aussies retain title

NARITA, Japan — The Philippines settled for joint fifth for the second straight time with a closing 4-over par 220 as Artemio Murakami and Juvic Pagunsan each carded 72s and Jay Bayron limped with a 76 at the end of the 22nd Nomura Cup dominated by Australia.

The Filipinos thus duplicated their finish in Australia two years ago in a below-par performance of a team that showed so much promise at the start but wavered towards the end of the 72-hole tournament that gathered the best amateurs in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Pagunsan and Murakami just didn’t click together. We didn’t have much luck because for us to contend, they both had to deliver as well as their backups," said national team coach Bong Lopez. "But no excuses, and I think they lacked stamina." Murakami and Pagunsan both needed to eagle the par-5 17th on separate flights to keep the Philippines in step with Malaysia, a rival in the coming Southeast Asian Games, which rallied with a final round 211, five-under, for a share of fifth place at 860.

The RP golfers, third in the first two rounds, were actually fighting for fourth place as they only trailed Thailand, the top SEAG contender, by two strokes at the start of the final round. But Murakami, Pagunsan, Bayron and fourth man Erwin Vinluan failed to come up with a solid start and struggled all day, enabling the Malaysians, in sixth place after three rounds, to catch them in the end.

Vinluan didn’t count for the third straight time with a 77.

Thailand, bannered by 16-year-old Anujit Hirunratanakorn and Chinarat Phadungsil, took solo fourth at 853 after a 215 as it showed its readiness to spoil the Philippines bid in the SEA Games slated Nov. 27-Dec. 5 in Manila.

Australia proved it’s a cut above the rest as it ran away with the crown for the second straight time, unleashing a blazing finish of 197-814 to beat New Zealand by 17 shots. Andrew Tampion fired a 65, Andrew Dodt shot a 67 and Korean Woo Joon Lee carded another 65 as the Aussies capped their domination of the event with an eye-popping 50-under aggregate. The Kiwis grabbed second place with an 831 after a 212 while South Korea slid to third with a 207 for an 836.

The Philippines, which tied with Pakistan for fifth two years ago, missed clinching solo fifth as Bayron, Pagunsan and Murakami all flubbed pin-high birdie putts on the 18th. But Murakami, who dished out a fine start of 67 and 69, and Pagunsan, who sizzled with a 67 Thursday, had to fight back from two-over cards with those eagles to save the team from being relegated to sixth place.

Lopez, assisted here by team captain Gen. Roberto Sabularse, said later a minor change in the composition of the national team will be made after the RP Amateurs next week in Bacolod. The top three spots, he added, are already a cinch for Pagunsan, Murakami and Bayron with Marvin Dumandan, Gene Bondoc, Louie Dacudao, Ton-ton Asistio and Vinluan to fight it out for the fourth berth and a couple of alternate slots.