MANILA, Philippines — Another title crack, another playoff heartbreak for Sean Ramos.
This time, however, the 22-year-old Filipino’s bid for a breakthrough victory on the Asian Development Tour was derailed by circumstances beyond anyone’s control after organizers shortened the Ever Glory ADT Open to 54 holes due to the onslaught of Typhoon Bavi.
Ramos, who held second spot after the opening two rounds of the $100,000 championship originally scheduled over 72 holes, stayed steady under pressure with a second straight five-under 67 at the Dong Hua Elite Golf Club in Taiwan on Friday. His closing effort left him tied for the lead at 16-under 200 with Malaysia’s Nathan Han and Korea’s Minhyeok Yan, who both fired brilliant 65s.
With forecasts showing the typhoon would batter the venue from Friday evening through Saturday, tournament officials canceled the final round and declared the event complete after 54 holes, sending the three leaders into a sudden-death playoff.
Han sealed the championship with a birdie on the first extra hole, leaving Ramos to endure another painful runner-up finish.
It was the second playoff defeat of the season for the young Filipino, who also fell short in extra hole at the ADT Players Championship in Malaysia last May.
Ramos, one of the Philippine Golf Tour’s brightest stars, had kept himself firmly in contention throughout the week with opening rounds of 66 and 67 before another composed performance in the final round.
A bogey on the second hole briefly slowed his charge, but he responded with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 after five straight pars. He sustained the momentum with four more birdies on Nos. 11, 12, 15 and 17, matching his second-round card to force the three-way tie at the top.
But with the championship decided in a playoff instead of a scheduled final round, Ramos was unable to match Han’s winning birdie, settling for yet another heartbreaking second-place finish.
Still, those narrow defeats are expected to further motivate Ramos as he resumes his search for a maiden ADT title next week in another Taiwan stop – the $120,000 Ambassador ADT Open, which tees off Thursday at the Taipei Golf Club.