Berry Henson of the United States held off a plucky late charge from local hope Jay Bayron to win his first Asian Tour title at the gruelling $300,000 ICTSI Philippine Open on Sunday.
The Asian Tour rookie made a pivotal up-and-down for par on the last hole to close with one-over-par 73 to clinch his second international title in the span of two weeks at the challenging Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Manila. Bayron battled to a 72 to finish in second place for a 284 total, one stroke off the champion.
South Africa’s Jbe Kruger, who finished second on three occasions last year, endured another agonising day when he placed third on 285. Digvijay Singh of India was a stroke back in fourth as he secured his first top-five placing since 2003. “I feel like I went 72 rounds with Manny Pacquiao this week and didn’t get K.O. I played on a very difficult golf course and the weather was brutal. It was a hard win,” said Henson, who won with a total of five-under-par 283.
Overnight leader Henson turned in 35 to hold a three-shot lead but it was cut by one when he bogeyed holes 12 and 17.
“We were all struggling to make birdies and stay aggressive on the back nine. I made a couple of mistakes coming in but everything worked out for me on the last hole,” said the 31-year-old.
Bayron shot an eagle four when his wedge shot from 120 yards out rolled into the second hole. The home crowd rallied behind the former caddy but his title aspirations were dashed when he made two straight bogeys from the 14th hole. “Honestly, I was playing for second after the 15th hole. I tried to keep the thought of winning out of my mind for the entire round. Finishing second is a good result for me and I hope to build on this confidence,” said the Filipino. India’s Singh shot three birdies in his opening five holes before closing with one birdie and three bogeys in a round of 71. He credited his return to form to his wife Chitra. “I have to credit my performance this week to my wife because we spoke a lot on what has to be done on the course,” said Singh. “I told myself to go out there and enjoy my round and I did just that by thinking of my wife. Overall, it was a good result for me,” said the 39-year-old.
Wood opens four-shot lead in Mallorca: England’s Chris Wood extended his lead at the Iberdrola Open to four shots after Saturday’s third round to take a huge step towards a maiden European Tour title. Wood, 23, carded a 69 at the Pula Golf Club, to stand at nine under, but he will start Sunday’s final round with experienced Ryder Cup stars Darren Clarke and Jose Maria Olazabal breathing down his neck. Clarke is four shots off the pace along with Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who matched Gregory Bourdy’s course record of 63 from the opening round. Olazabal is one further back at the course he designed after a 66. “I have extended my lead by one. I thought that I played pretty well and didn’t really get the rewards I deserved,” said Wood, who lost a play-off at the Africa Open to British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen in January. Clarke had two bogeys in his first three holes but struck his approach to the fifth within three feet and made it consecutive birdies at the next. He holed a 20 footer at the 13th, but three putts on the last saw him sign for a level par 70.
