Chan’s 68 takes Q-School low medal honors

DAVAO — Amateur standout Aidric Chan marked his transition to the professional ranks with a remarkable victory in the Philippine Golf Tour Q-School, overhauling a four-stroke deficit with a 68 and securing the low medal honors by three at the South Pacific Golf and Leisure Estates here Friday.

Kuresh Samanodi initially hiked his lead to five strokes with a birdie-birdie feat against Chan’s bogey-eagle start. But the tides shifted as Chan, displaying resilience and skill, recorded four birdies against two bogeys in the next 14 holes.

In contrast, the two-day leader struggled with six bogeys in the same stretch and wound up with a 75, enabling Chan to wrest the lead.

Chan held sway to the finish, matching Samanodi’s birdie on No. 17 to spike a pair of 34s for a four-day total of four-under 284, clinching the top spot and leading 29 others, who earned their spots in this year’s PGT.

The 10-leg circuit kicks off with a two-leg Davao swing on 12 March for the ICTSI Apo Golf Classic, followed by the Palos Verdes Championship on 19 to 22 March, alongside the 54-hole Ladies PGT.

“My game has really been peaking lately and I feel everyone has been a part of the journey,” said Chan, expressing gratitude to his family, to God, supporters, pal Paolo Wong and coaches J3 Altea and Tony Lascuña.

Despite being four shots behind Samanodi after 54 holes, Chan focused on putting up a low score rather than catching up, underscoring his strategic approach to the game.

Needing to bounce back from an early slip, Chan did just that, coming through with a solid 5-iron second shot that landed just before the second green. He then knocked down a 60-degree wedge chip for eagle.

While the outcome resulted in a rout, Chan said it was practically close throughout, stressing: “At some point, we were all in contention, there were only two or three shots separating us.”

Also making it to the Tour are Koreans Min Hyeok Yu and Gwon Minwook, Japanese Ozeki Kakeru, Toru Nakajima Kota Fukuyama, Daiki Ueda and Daiya Suzuki, American amateur Drew Proctor, Kristoffer Arevalo, Joseph Labajo and Jelbert Gamolo.