THE Philippines turned in a decent sixth place finish by tallying a two-under 214 behind Marcel Puyat and Clyde Mondilla’s closing one-under 71s in the Nomura Cup topped by Australia at the Denarau Golf and Raquet Club and Natadola Bay Championship Golf Club courses in Fiji.
Rupert Zaragoza matched par 72 in the final day to back up Puyat and Mondilla’s one-under cards as the Philippines, whose campaign was sanctioned by the National Golf Association of the Phils., bested Southeast Asian rival Thailand by 10 strokes and posted its best finish in the four-to-play, three-to-count format event since 2005.
The team also finished ahead of two of Asia’s powerhouses Taiwan (seventh-897) and China (eighth-898). The Thais wound up 10th with a 901.
The young Filipino golfers actually churned out a solid opening of three-under 213 at Denarau as Zaragoza and Zanie Boy Gialon shot 70 and 71, the fourth and fifth best scores, respectively. But they struggled at the tough Natadola layout designed by Vijay Singh in the middle rounds with 228 and 236 and needed a final round charge back at Denarau to salvage sixth place at 891. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio