ANTIPOLO – Guido van der Valk survived a harrowing back-nine meltdown in sweltering conditions and fended off a furious rally by three determined rivals to escape with a nail-biting one-stroke victory on a scrambling 70 in the ICTSI Forest Hills Classic here on Friday.
What started as a cruise to the title turned into a gut-wrenching grind for the 45-year-old Dutchman, who saw a four-shot lead evaporate in a span of six holes before steadying himself with a clutch par on the 72nd hole to seal the hard-earned win.
“No. 18 isn’t the easiest hole – there’s a lot of trouble out there. But I hit a good drive and followed it up with a really nice second shot. That helped me settle down a bit and close it out,” said van der Valk, who last tasted victory several seasons ago and came agonizingly close to a record-tying third win at The Country Club Invitational in January before falling in a playoff.
He tied for fourth in the Philippine Golf Tour’s kickoff leg at Pradera Verde last February and placed runner-up to Angelo Que at Eagle Ridge last April. This time, he made sure to finish on top.
Van der Valk looked poised for a dominant finish after matching Aidric Chan’s sizzling 31 at the front nine and stretching his lead with a birdie on the 10th. But momentum shifted swiftly as he bogeyed Nos. 12, 15 and 17, opening the door for Keanu Jahns, Que and Reymon Jaraula to mount late assaults on the Nicklaus course.
With the tournament suddenly up for grabs, van der Valk was clinging to a one-shot lead heading to the par-4 18th. Under immense pressure, he split the fairway with his drive, then dialed in a laser-precise approach that settled just three paces left of the pin. He calmly two-putted from there for par, securing a hard-earned 12-under 272 total and the P430,000 top purse.
The final par, while routine in appearance, proved heartbreakingly decisive for Jahns and Que, whose scorching rounds came within inches of forcing a playoff.
“I started off a bit iffy with my approach shots but still managed to save pars. From No. 5 onwards, though, I really found my rhythm and went on a run with four straight birdies,” said van der Valk.
“But for some reason, I got a little defensive at the backnine. That’s when I started getting into trouble. I struggled to shake it off and ended up making some bogeys, which definitely made things harder for me toward the finish.
“Still, I hung in there,” he said.
Asked about Que’s strong push, van der Valk said he wasn’t too worried at first, especially being four-under with nine holes to play.
“But once I started making those bogeys, things definitely got a bit tougher,” he admitted. “But again, I managed to hold on.”
Despite his struggles on the back nine, van der Valk said he felt he played solid overall, which was key in finally ending a long title drought.
Jahns, who struggled to find his rhythm early with a frontside 34, exploded on the back nine with five birdies in eight holes, including a closing birdie, for a 66 and 11-under 273. Que, meanwhile, fired the round of the day, a sizzling 64 highlighted by seven birdies, also finishing one shot shy of a tie.
The three-time Asian Tour champion Que, who swept the first two legs of this year’s Philippine Golf Tour at Pradera Verde and Eagle Ridge, seemed destined for another final-round comeback. But despite matching the tournament’s best round, he was left ruing missed chances and the slimmest of margins.
Jahns and Que halved the combined second and third prizes totaling P430,000.
Jaraula, tied with van der Valk after 54 holes, stumbled early with two bogeys at the front and another on the 12th. But he staged a valiant rally with birdies on 14, 16 and 17 to tie Jahns and Que at 11-under, but a failed sand save on the final hole dropped him to solo fourth at 274 after a 72.
