RP 10th in Nomura Cup

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines closed out with a 228 and wound up 10th in a field of 21 in the Nomura Cup ruled by Korea in wire-to-wire fashion at the Namseoul Country Club in South Korea yesterday.

Mhark Fernando shot a 75, Peter Villaber carded a 76 and Antonio Asistio II added a 77 as the RP bets pooled a 72-hole aggregate of 915, one stroke behind New Zealand, which wound up ninth with a 914 after a 217.

Jhonnel Ababa, the team’s top scorer in the first round, failed to count for the third straight time with a 78.

Korea capped its four-day brilliance with a nine-under 207 for an 846, romping off with a whopping 22-shot victory over Taiwan, which had an 868 after a 216. Japan came in third with an 878 after a 215 followed by China (213-885), Thailand (220-894), Singapore (220-899), Australia (24-899) and Pakistan (223-905).

CW Han, firing a 69-280, and MH Kim, shooting a 68-281, finished 1-2 in the individual competition to underscore the hosts’ domination of the biennial event.

 also known as the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship.

Fernando finished joint 27th with a 304 while Asistio (306) and Villaber (310) wound up joint 32nd and 38th, respectively. Ababa had a 312 for 41st.