Harmie Constantino overcomes fatigue, wins ICTSI Apo Golf Classic

DAVAO CITY — Running low on motivation after an exhausting season that had taken her to nearly 20 tournaments, Harmie Constantino appeared to have little left in the tank.

But when the final round demanded one last fight, the multiple-title winner found a fresh reserve of resolve and turned a potentially tight finish into a commanding two-shot victory in the ICTSI Apo Golf Classic, the final regular-season leg of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT), on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026.

Constantino overcame a two-shot deficit, shrugged off an early miscue, and ignited her charge with a string of birdies, including three straight from No. 5.

What initially shaped up as a tight battle for the crown gradually tilted in her favor as she stayed patient, kept her shots under control, and watched her chief rival falter under pressure.

She closed with a three-under 69 for a 54-hole total of 213, capping a stirring comeback that belied her recent admission that the grind of a long campaign had drained her motivation.

By the finish, she had transformed a tight leaderboard battle into a two-shot victory over South Korea’s Kim Seoyun, who faltered with a 73 for a 215 total.

The turnaround was all the more striking given how the final round began.

Kim, tied with Chanelle Avaricio after 36 holes, initially seized control despite opening with two bogeys, answering with three consecutive birdies from No. 6.

Avaricio, meanwhile, stumbled with three bogeys on the front nine and never recovered.

Avaricio faded with a 76 and dropped to a share of third at 218 with Yvon Bisera and Princess Superal, who shot 71 and 74, respectively.

Constantino, playing in a separate flight, began to make her move with her birdie run from No. 5.

As the contenders traded blows, the prospect of a dramatic finish remained very much alive.

But the complexion of the championship changed on the back nine, where Constantino’s steady play contrasted sharply with Kim’s unraveling challenge.

Kim bogeyed three of the first four holes on the back nine, opening the door for Constantino to stretch her lead to as many as three strokes.

The Korean managed a birdie on the final hole, but it was too little, too late to prevent Constantino from securing the title.

For Constantino, the victory was less about a sudden swing change than a decision to trust her game and resist the temptation to force the issue.

“I think it’s a hard question,” she said when asked how she had summoned the energy to contend after admitting she was exhausted and had run out of motivation following a season of close to 20 tournaments.

“I think I just tried to fight through it. I saw that I was hitting it well and I had a good chance. So, I just kept trying to fight through it,” she said.

Asked what had changed to help her rediscover her form, Constantino pointed not to a major adjustment but to patience and discipline.

“Not, not a lot of changes. I think I just stayed very, very patient. I didn’t force a lot of shots and I didn’t really force hitting pins and, you know, that stuff. So, yeah, I think that’s what helped a lot today,” she said.

Even as her game clicked into gear, the eventual victory came as a surprise.

“Yeah, a bit. I didn’t really expect it since I wasn’t really contending this morning. But I stayed patient throughout,” she said.

“It feels good to win again. I’ve been working on my game,” added Constantino, who thanked Empire, Titleist, and Transview Elite, along with her parents, for their unwavering support and belief in her.

The victory, worth PHP 162,500, was her second of the season, following her runaway triumph at Caliraya Springs in May, and provided a fitting finish to a campaign in which she had to contend not only with the demands of competition but also with her own doubts and dwindling motivation.

The ICTSI Apo Golf Classic, which offered a total prize fund of PHP 1.25 million, marked the eighth and final regular-season leg of the LPGT before the season-ending Match Play Championship scheduled for November at Anvaya Cove Golf Club in Bataan.

Meanwhile, Bisera, who had already won legs at Lakewood and Pradera Verde, produced one of the day’s defining moments with a hole-in-one on the 165-yard No. 17 using a pitching wedge and a Pro V1 ball.

The ace, worth PHP 20,000 from organizer Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc., helped her salvage a 71 and finish tied for third at 218 with Superal and Avaricio, who missed her bid for back-to-back titles after winning the South Pacific leg last week.

Constantino’s victory came without the customary final-hole celebration.

Playing in the second-to-last group, she completed her round with a three-under card and watched the final group finish before celebrating quietly behind the 18th green, where fellow players and supporters drenched her in a spontaneous shower of water.

It was a subdued ending to a triumph that had been anything but ordinary: a player who had openly acknowledged her fatigue and loss of motivation found the patience to fight through one last test and delivered when the opportunity came.

What had threatened to become a nerve-racking scramble for the crown instead became a composed, convincing finish.

Davao City’s rising star Johanna Uyking, meanwhile, carded a second consecutive 75 to finish tied for eighth at 224.

She secured low amateur honors, earning PHP 40,000 worth of gift certificates.