Castro captures IIT Pradera crown; Tan survives late collapse

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Zach Castro finally claimed a long-elusive title, closing with a blistering finish to capture the ICTSI Pradera Verde Intercollegiate Tour leg in dramatic fashion Monday.

The La Salle-1 standout birdied his final two holes — including a pressure-packed putt on the par-4 eighth and a closing birdie on the ninth of the Pinatubo layout — to card a five-under 67 and edge early clubhouse leader Sean Granada by two strokes.

After two near-misses — a runner-up finish in Round 1 at Royal Northwoods and a joint fifth-place effort at Splendido Taal — Castro refused to be denied in the four-round Tour co-developed by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. and the Philippine Golf Foundation.

Locked in a duel with Granada, the College of St. Benilde-I ace who posted a 69 earlier in the day, Castro delivered in the clutch.

The turning point came on the par-5 sixth, where his precise approach set up a birdie to tie Granada at three-under. He followed with a birdie on the eighth and a composed finish on the ninth to clinch his breakthrough crown.

“It’s all about attitude,” Castro said. “I stayed composed even when the putts weren’t falling. I just kept it simple — hit the fairways, hit the greens. I knew the putts would drop eventually.”

Castro credited hydration for enduring the sweltering heat and admitted tracking live scoring updates throughout the round.

“Sean’s a good friend, and I know what he’s capable of,” he said. “He was two-under going into his last hole. When I saw he finished at three-under, I knew I had to birdie the last two holes to win.”

He did just that.

If the men’s finish was a showcase of clutch execution, the women’s division turned into a test of survival — and Shane Tan barely held on.

The Ateneo-2 mainstay appeared on her way to a runaway win with a four-shot cushion over UP-I’s Addie Manhit standing on the 16th tee.

Then came the collapse.

Tan stumbled with back-to-back triple bogeys on the last two holes for a 90, opening the door for Manhit. The Caliraya Springs leg champion birdied 16 to close the gap, but bogeyed 17 and made a triple-bogey 7 on 18 to finish with a 91, missing her chance to force a playoff.

Stacey Chan of La Salle-1 parred her final two holes for a 96, edging CSB-I’s Natasha Bantug and Ateneo-I’s Simi Tinio in a countback for third.

UP retained the women’s team title with a 188, counting Katrisse Datoc’s 97. La Salle-1 placed second with a 193 from Chan’s 96 and Janine Yusay’s 97, while Ateneo-2 took third with a 200 from Tan’s 90 and Tatiana Ong’s 110.

Tan credited her win to course management despite the shaky finish.

“I really leaned on my short game, especially since the greens were rolling so well,” she said. “Even with those mistakes, I still believe my course management made the difference.”

Castro’s round mirrored his hot start, opening with three straight birdies on a backside start. A bogey on 14 slowed his momentum, but he steadied with key par saves before his decisive finish.

Granada, coming off a win at Splendido Taal, played steady with three birdies against a bogey before adding another birdie on the par-5 ninth to finish three-under and wait for the leaders — but the playoff he expected never came.

UP-1’s Joshua Buenaventura, champion in the opening leg at Royal Northwoods, birdied two of his last four holes to salvage a 71 after a roller-coaster round of four birdies and five bogeys, good for third.

Teammate Miggy Roque’s 73 helped UP-I secure back-to-back men’s team titles with a 144 total in the three-to-play, two-to-count format.

La Salle-1 finished second with a 148 behind Castro’s 67 and Angelo Fusilero’s 81, while David Guangko’s 83 supported Granada’s 69 for CSB-I’s 152 and third place.

Round 4 of the men’s tournament is set for Aug. 17 at Beverly Hills Golf Club in Pampanga, while the women’s division concludes its four-round series Aug. 24 at Eastridge Golf Club in Binangonan, Rizal.

The season-ending finals, a three-day event, will run Sept. 23-25 at Splendido Taal Golf Club.