Castro, Constantino bag Jr. match play crown

MANILA, Philippines — Luis Miguel Castro nearly blew a huge lead but held sway to repulse Carl Corpus in the stretch and hack out a 3&1 decision while Harmie Constantino coasted to a 7&6 romp over Tomi Arejola to share the Philippine Junior Amateur Match Play Golf Championship crowns at Riviera’s Langer course in Cavite yesterday.

Castro, who eased past Josh Jorge, 3&2, in the semifinals late Thursday, went 6-up after the first 13 holes of their morning face-off but sputtered in the final half of their marathon 36-hole duel as Corpus rallied to within one by winning three of the last six holes in their second trip at the front.

But the top-seeded Castro recovered in time, taking the 10th and 11th holes to build another three-hole cushion. He yielded No. 14 but stayed 2-up in the next four holes to clinch the victory in the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation and held as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour.

It was a sorry setback for Corpus, who routed Sean Ramos, 6&4, in the Final Four but fell short of his comeback bid and missed duplicating his victory in the Philippine Amateur Open Match Play at Orchard last month.

Constantino, meanwhile, re-staked her claim as the best player in the ranks today, nailing her second match play crown after blasting Mikha Fortuna in the Phl Open.

The No. 1 Constantino imposed her will early, seizing control after nine holes, 2-up, and padding her lead to four holes at the break.