Ramos fades with 75, misses Asian Tour final qualifying

MANILA, Philippines – Sean Ramos turned in his worst round in four days, a 75, as he wound up at tied 50th and out of the Asian Tour Final Qualifying Stage after the Section D elims topped by Korean amateur Jaehyun Jung in Bangkok, Thailand Saturday.

Needing to rebound on an early start after slipping to joint 39th with a 72 Friday, Ramos instead faltered in a backside tee-off, bogeying Nos. 10, 12, 16 and 17 and yielding more strokes on Nos. 3 and 6 before finally hitting his stride and producing a birdie on the seventh.

With a closing five-over card and a four-day total of seven-over 287 at the par-70 Thana City Country Club course, the young Filipino bidder finished way off the top 25, which advanced to the Final Qualifying Stage starting Jan. 18 at the Lakeview Resort and Golf Club in Hua Hin, also in Thailand.

The former national team player had fueled hopes of a big campaign after starting out with a 66 for sixth place Wednesday. But he tumbled to joint 31st with a second round 74 and hardly recovered with a 72 in the penultimate day, bowing out of contention with a bogey-marred start in the final 18 holes.

Meanwhile, Jung, who took charge with a 65 Friday, recovered from a three-over card by birdying three of the last six holes as he salvaged a 70 and clinched the top honors with a 270 total, two strokes clear of fellow Koreans Doohwan Bang and Gyumin Lee, who matched 68s, and Heemin Chang, who carded a 70, and Baekjun Kim, who stumbled with a 74, for 272s.

Dino Villanueva earlier missed the 54-hole cut while Enrico Gallardo and Gab Manotoc failed to make the grade in Section C elims last week.

Meanwhile, Zanieboy Gialon and Jhonnel Ababa will vie in the final stage, a grueling 90-hole competition with the top 35 earning playing rights for this year’s edition of the region’s premier circuit.

Lloyd Go, on the other hand, has secured his card by finishing No. 7 in the 2022 Asian Development Tour Order of Merit. The Top 10 in the Asian Tour’s farm league gained playing rights for the 2023 season.