Iñigo rallies to win Phl Seniors crown

Manila, Philippines - Pepot Iñigo turned in a solid backside stint then pounced on Mari Hechanova’s double-bogey mishap on No. 15 to complete his fightback from four strokes down with a 75 and capture the Philippine Senior Amateur Golf Championships crown at Riviera’s Couples course in Silang, Cavite.

Four shots behind at the start of the round, the club bet dropped farther back with a 39 at the turn but parred the last nine holes then watched Hechanova fumble with a 42 and an 80 to snatch a one-stroke victory in the centerpiece Open division.

Iñigo, who led in the first round with another 75 but yielded the second round lead with a 78, totaled 228 to claim the championship held the last five years by Iggy Clavecilla of Alabang.

Clavecilla never recovered from a poor start of 82 and hobbled in sixth place with a 234 after a 78.

It was a sorry loss for Hechanova, who went five-up on Iñigo with a 38 at the turn. But the Cangolf bet double-bogeyed the 10th, dropped strokes on Nos. 12 and 15 before making another double bogey on the par-5 16th to yield the lead and the crown to Iñigo.

Hechanova wound up with a 229 while Rolly Viray, another bet from Canlubang who stood three shots off his teammate after two rounds, blew his bid with a triple-bogey 8 on No. 11, finishing with a 40 and 78 for a 230 for third.

Manila Southwoods’ Florene delos Santos strung up two 40s for an 80 and a 233 for joint fourth with Dave Hernandez, also of Canlubang, who ended up with a 78 in the three-day tournament organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils.

Tony Olives of Cangolf wound up seventh with a 237 after an 81 while last year’s runner-up and former national champion Francis Gaston of Negros Occidental shot a 79 for a 241 for eighth followed by Anthony Youn Han of Eagle Ridge (86-246) and Rupert Bayocot of Intramuros (82-251).

Katy Katigbak of Mt. Malarayat went all the way to cop the Category II (60-64) plum with a 155 after a 77 with Ted Runes of Navy finishing second with a 158. Mario Lugay of Eastridge bagged the Category III (65-69) title with a 163 for a six-shot win over teammate Vic Onella (169) while Danny Pizarro beat fellow Riviera bet Peter Shanks by 14 shots, 154-168, to clinch the Super Senior I diadem.

Jun Galindez of Alabang took the Super Senior II title with a 193 after a 90 while former President Fidel V. Ramos ran away with the Super Senior III crown with a 208 after a 100.