Fernando, Go carve out thrilling wins in Bacolod

Mhark Fernando III (right) celebrates with his caddy. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Mhark Fernando III drained a nerve-wracking two-footer for par that rescued a three-over-par 70 on Friday for a thrilling one-shot win over local bet Eddie Gonzales Jr. for the centerpiece 15-18 boys’ title in the ICTSI Bacolod Junior PGT Championship in Murcia town in Bacolod.

A target of recruitment by several UAAP schools after golf debuted as a demonstration sport in the league last month, the 16-year-old Fernando checked an early back nine wobble with a birdie on the 15th and that steady stroke for a 54-hole 154 total as he shared the winner’s stage with Cebu native Lois Lane Go.

Go rallied from seven shots down in the final round, returning a level 70 capped by a 54th hole birdie for 155 and a similar one-shot win over a devastated Tashanah Balangauan, another bet from the Queen City of the South.

“I stayed patient and just played my game. When the situation got tough, I didn’t force things,” said Fernando in Filipino as he jacked up his series total to 33 points after earning 15 for the win. He jumped to No. 2, well inside the top four that will see action for the South team in the Elite Finals.

“After I double-bogeyed the 10th, I got nervous, but I just calmed myself down,” he said. “I just focused on hitting fairways and greens.”

Balangauan appeared to have the trophy in hand entering the back nine, holding what looked like an insurmountable six-stroke lead, only to crack when the pressure was at its highest.

While Go delivered clutch birdies on Nos. 11 and 15, Balangauan double-bogeyed the 10th, and costly errors on Nos. 14 and 16 allowed Go to draw level, before Go nailed a 13-foot putt for birdie on the par-3 closing hole.

The victory hiked Go’s total to 35 points, putting her firmly in the race for the grand finals to be played at The Country Club.