Pinoys flounder, finish 23RD Fil-Aussie bags World Cup title

MELBOURNE – Fil-Aussie Jason Day, cheered by his Filipina mom and sisters he had not seen in a long time, outdueled Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn at the backside and completed an emotional victory in a gripping final round of the World Cup of Golf yesterday.

Day, two-putted on the 18th to fire a 70 and clinch the individual crown at 274 and, with teammate Adam Scott, they led Australia to the team championship with a 551, completing the host country’s first-ever sweep of the biennial event.

That somehow eased the pain for Tony Lascuña and Angelo Que who found the going a lot tougher in the final round, turning in their worst combined score of 13-over 157 and closing out a campaign that started with a lot of promise in complete disarray.

With a 587 aggregate, the Philippines tumbled all the way to 23rd in a field of 26 after starting out at joint 11th after a 144, moving a rung higher in the second round with a 143 before skidding to 18th Saturday with a 147.

It was sorry finish for the Philippines, which shared 14th place in its last World Cup stint in China in 2009.

The Aussies, who copped their fifth WC crown, won by 10 shots over dethroned champion the United States, which had a 561.

The 26-year-old Day, who blew a four-shot lead at the turn with a double-bogey on the 10th but withstood Bjorn’s birdies on Nos. 11 and 13, pounced on his rival’s costly bogey on the 16th to regain the lead and post a two-stroke triumph when Bjorn failed to rescue a par off the 18th bunker and settled for a 71 and a 276.

“I’m just glad I held on,” said Day, who took home the whopping $1.2 million top purse plus $300,000 from his share in the team romp. He shook Bjorn’s hands after holing out, embraced his caddie then headed straight to his family on the gallery stand, giving his son Dash James a tap on the head and his Filipina mother Dening and wife Ellie Harvey a big hug.

Day, who made his first WC stint and won, had not seen his mom and sisters for so long with the family still grieving the loss of eight relatives, including his maternal grandmother, to Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) that struck and devastated Eastern Visayas two weeks ago.

It was also Day’s first international victory since winning the Byron Nelson Championship in 2010 on the PGA Tour. The Queenslander also had 25 top 10 finishes on the tour, including six in the Majors capped by three runners-up.

“The wind picked up and it got the better of me, especially in the last few holes,” said Que, who however expressed his satisfaction over his four-day performance on a punishing course he and Lascuña had never had the chance to practice.

“Overall, I’m quite happy with the way I played. It could’ve been worse or better. But playing for your country is great. It’s a good challenge and I hope to learn from this,” said Que, who hobbled with a six-over 77.

Despite their shaky windup, Que and Lascuña, who campaign here was sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc., still earned millions with the former, who had earlier 74-72-70, winding up with a 293 for joint 46th worth $34,000 (P1.5 million) and the latter, who carded a five-over 76 and tied for seventh after two rounds, sharing 50th place at 294 worth $30,000 (P1.2 million).

“I just lost my rhythm when the wind started to blow hard and I lost my touch on the surface. The greens were really tough to read that you have to place your shot near the hole,” said Lascuña, who made quite an impressive start of 70 and 71 only to falter with a 77 and a 76.

For a while, Scott looked headed for a big comeback when he went four-under after three holes on an eagle-birdie-birdie opening but the world No. 2 slowed down at the back, finishing with 35 and a 66 for third at 277

Lascuña and Que actually launched their final round bid in strong fashion, putting up a pooled three-under card after six holes in cool condition under overcast skies. But as the wind picked up and the field backed up on the slick greens of the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Lascuña and Que began to stumble and crumble.

Lascuña, eager to rebound from a disastrous 77 in an early third round struggle, birdied Nos. 4 and 6 but hit an errant drive on the dog-leg par-4 No. 9, needing to play out from the thick bushes twice and reaching the green in four then three putted for a 7.

He never recovered and made four more bogeys in a six-hole stretch from No. 11 to finish with a 36-40 for a five-over 76 for a four-day total of 294, including a pair of impressive 70 and 71 in his first two games at this world-class layout.

Que, ever so confident, birdied the par-5 No. 2 for the fourth straight day, only to reel back with a double-bogey on the par-3 No. 3.