LAUREL, Batangas \u2013\u00a0Shinichi Suzuki made a resounding return to the ICTSI Junior PGT Championship, showcasing steely resolve and a calm command under pressure to edge out Zachary Villaroman by three in a wind-blasted final round showdown and seize the Splendido Taal leg title with a 72 here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Facing gusty winds that turned the challenging course into a true test of nerves and precision, Suzuki overcame an early deficit and relied on consistency and mental grit to emerge victorious in the boys\u2019 15-18 division of the 54-hole tournament.<\/p>\n
Suzuki closed out with a 219 total, three-over for the tournament, securing a well-earned victory before the Luzon series pauses for the Visayas-Mindanao (Vis-Min) swing, which kicks off Monday (May 5) in Mactan, Cebu.<\/p>\n
Villaroman, third in the series\u2019 first two legs at Eagle Ridge and Sherwood Hills, improved to second this time with a 222 after a 76. Despite the stumble, he solidified his lead in the points race for the national finals with 32 points, with Suzuki close behind at 27.<\/p>\n
Suzuki, a 16-year-old student from St. Francis of Assisi in Bi\u00f1an, Laguna, showcased superb wedge play to anchor his victory.<\/p>\n
He delivered a 50-degree wedge from 140 yards to within four feet for birdie on No. 2, followed by a precise 54-degree wedge from 122 yards that left him just two feet for birdie on the 14th. On No. 16, he leaned again on his trusted 50-degree wedge from 143 yards to set up a tap-in birdie.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe key was staying patient because this course is pretty difficult \u2013 especially the greens,\u201d said Suzuki, who credited his recent stint in Japan for helping him adapt to challenging conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a great experience in Japan, where it was much windier,\u201d he said. \u201cThat helped me refine my club selection and learn to play with the wind instead of fighting it. I was able to hit a lot of greens and stay consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rafa Anciano, on the other hand, clinched her second straight win in dominant fashion, crushing Angelica Ba\u00f1ez by 36 strokes despite a closing 96 for a 54-hole total of 260 in the girls\u2019 15-18 category of the nationwide junior golf series, launched by ICTSI in 2023 as an elite platform for grooming young talents.<\/p>\n
Despite a challenging day at the Greg Norman-designed layout, Anciano remained unthreatened. Her front nine included a quadruple bogey on the par-5 No. 2 and a triple on No. 6 plus a slew of backside bogeys, leading to a 24-over final card.<\/p>\n
Still, Ba\u00f1ez struggled even more, posting a 98 that featured a birdie on No. 3 but offset by five double bogeys at the front for a 50. She came in with a 48 marred by a triple-bogey on the par-5 18th for a 296.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was fun, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to score well because I really wanted to. Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t quite meet my goal, so it was a little disappointing not to end on a high note,\u201d said Anciano about her performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAUREL, Batangas \u2013\u00a0Shinichi Suzuki made a resounding return to the ICTSI Junior PGT Championship, showcasing steely resolve and a calm command under pressure to edge out Zachary Villaroman by three in a wind-blasted final round showdown and seize the Splendido Taal leg title with a 72 here on Wednesday. Facing gusty winds that turned the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2772"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2774,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2772\/revisions\/2774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}