MANILA, Philippines - Elmer Salvador annexed his first victory on the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour in grand fashion, romping away with a five-shot win over veteran Benjie Magada in the Sherwood Classic on a closing three-under par 69 at the Sherwood Golf and Country Club in Trece Martires, Cavite yesterday.
Salvador capped his runaway triumph with an eagle on the par-5 12th, dashing any hope of a comeback by Magada and the rest of his pursuers whom he dominated with a solid four-under 68 in the second round to post a five-shot lead heading into the final 18 holes of the P1 million tournament.
Noted for his final round foldup, Salvador this time showed he can finish big, birdying Nos. 7, 8 and 10 to keep his rivals at bay then settled the outcome with that eagle-3 to build a seven-stroke lead en route to an eight-under 208 total.
Not even his two bogeys in the last six holes could spoil Salvador’s bid for the top P200,000 purse as Magada could only match his final round output to settle for second with a 213 worth P120,000.
Ferdie Aunzo, the former national amateur champion, recorded his best finish on his rookie season with a third-place finish in the 54-hole tournament which served as the fifth leg of the 10-stage circuit sponsored by the International Container Terminal Services, Inc., pooling a 215 after a 69. He took home P65,000.
Little-known Arnold Villavicencio also posted a solid finish of solo fourth with a 217 aggregate after a two-under 70 worth P50,000 while Miko Alejandro emerged the low amateur with a 218 total after a 73 for solo fifth.
Ruben Sasutil wound up sixth with a 219 after a 71 and won P40,000 while Raymund Sangil (72), Erwin Vinluan (72) and Marlon Dizon (72) finished tied for sixth at 220. Each got P30,000.
Former RP team member Jerson Balasabas also gained a share of sixth with a 220 after a 71.
“Finally I won. It’s been a long struggle to get that first big win. But I just stayed focused and tried not to feel the pressure,” said the soft-spoken Salvador in Filipino.
The Davaoeño shotmaker actually posted a victory in the PGAP-staged tournament at Royal Northwoods two years ago but only got to win a big tournament yesterday after a couple of top 10 finishes in the first four legs of the circuit backed by MJCarr Golf Management, Pisanti, Srixon, FAMI, Business Mirror, Motorola, Omnisource, Nike Golf, Tiger Gatorade and Pepsico.
Magada, five adrift at the start of the final round, tried to put the pressure early on with a birdie on No. 1 but fumbled with a bogey on the next before birdying Nos. 4, 6, 8 and 18 against a bogey on No. 7 to go three-under after 10 holes.
But Salvador matched Magada’s output with those birdies on Nos. 7, 8 and 10 then pulled away with that eagle feat on the 12th which Magada failed to birdie.