Fiery windup gives Elmer Open crown

LIPA CITY, Batangas – Elmer Salvador capped an outstanding season by dominating the best players in the land and beating a stubborn Dutch rival in a backside shootout to capture the crown that mattered most – the Philippine Open.

Salvador, who blew a three-shot lead in the first two days, outgunned third round co-leader Guido Van der Valk of the Netherlands in another windy day at Mt. Malarayat’s composite course here, hitting three birdies in the last four holes for a 69 and gifting himself with a three-shot victory worth P410,000 on his 40th birthday. He wound up with a 17-under 271 total.

“When I woke up today (yesterday), my plan was to just stay focused and keep my head up. That’s what I did,” said Salvador, who birdied Nos. 15 and 16 inside 10 feet to all but clinch the victory.

Van der Valk equaled Salvador’s one-under card after nine holes but cracked under pressure at the back, bogeying the par-3 11th to fall behind and lost in the face of the Filipino shotmaker’s fiery windup. He birdied the 18th to salvage a 72 for second with a 274 worth P290,000 ($6,300).

Last year’s champion Angelo Que, the third man in the championship flight whom Salvador humbled in the first two days, failed to sustain his third round charge of 69 and skied to a 39 at the front. He rallied to finish with a 72 for joint fourth with fellow Asian Tour campaigner Artemio Murakami, who had a 71, at 278. Each took home P113,000.

Tony Lascuña duplicated Salvador’s closing 69 to snatch third place honors worth P160,000 with a 277 while Benjie Magada aced No. 17 for a 68 but failed to win the Mitsubishi GLX car, which was staked on No. 11. He finished sixth with a 280 worth P88,250.

Frankie Miñoza shot a 71 and shared seventh place with Michael Bibat, who had a 72, at 281 while Danny Zarate placed ninth with a 282 after a 71. Jay Bayron (69), Ferdie Aunzo (75) and Richard Sinfuego (73) finished joint 10th at 283.

The victory thus capped Salvador’s brilliant season that included two victories and the Order of Merit crown on the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour where he honed his talent and skills and built the confidence he needed heading into the Open week.

“The ICTSI tour was really a big help not only for me but for all of us. Now, we have a regular tournament to play on,” said Salvador in Filipino.

The 1998 Philippine Amateur champion thus hiked his earnings to over P1.3 million following his victories at the Sherwood and Canlubang legs of the revival of the pro circuit.

“The first time I won that amount I bought a land back home in Apo,” he said. “Now I’m planning to buy my siblings their own land.”

After tapping in his last birdie on the 72nd, Salvador raised his arms in triumph and acknowledged the cheers from the gallery, which may have seen the emergence of a late-bloomer from talent-rich Davao.

With Que out of the way, Salvador pounced on Van der Valk’s bogey mishap on No. 11 to wrest a one-stroke lead then rolled in a delicate 12-foot birdie putt on No. 15 to gain another shot as the Dutchman flubbed his own bid from eight feet.

Two-up and all-pumped up, Salvador rolled in another birdie on the par-4 16 then matched Van der Valk’s par-birdie windup to join the elite circle of winners of Asia’s oldest and the country’s premier championship.

The event was presented by Stradcom, San Miguel Corp. and 2-Go/Super Ferry and sponsored by Pagcor and Jorgman Construction & Dev. Corp. The other backers were Amalgamated Motors, Orient Pearl, Mega Data Corp, Pandrol Korea, MRT, Seokwang, Zest Air, Star Infrastructure, CATS Inc, AMA Computer College, Sunwest, Alecon, Herma Group, Northwest Airlines, DMCI, Cebu Pacific and 1st Tee and 10th Tee Energy Bars.