Lascuña conquers TPGA Taiwan

TAINAN, Taiwan – Hounded by two Thai top guns and a young Taiwanese in a flight ahead and bedeviled by a swing that went haywire on the last two holes, Tony Lascuña kept his composure and produced two clutch shots that win big-time championships – closing out with scrambling pars to salvage a bogey-free 70 and claim the Nan Pao TPGA (PGA of Taiwan) Open crown by one here yesterday.

Those bailout shots bucked the Filipino ace’s errant driving on Nos. 17 and 18 that made the title chase gripping and a lot more interesting as these gave Ratchapol Jantavara and Liu Yu-Jui a share of the lead at 17-under overall and a crack at the crown that remained up for grabs until the final putt.

But Lascuña showed what championship poise is all about, producing a near-perfect lob shot from 45 yards on No. 17 after hooking his drive near the hazard for a tap-in par, a brilliant save that somehow shattered Jantavara’s confidence as the Thai, who fought back from two strokes down to force a tie with a four-under card after 10 holes, flubbed a four-footer for par to drop back by one.

Another hooked Lascuña drive on the par-5 18th that rolled under a tree gave the long-hitting Thai – and Liu, who closed out with a 68 ahead of the final group – another shot at the lead. But Lascuña pulled off another spectacular shot – drawing a 9-iron shot from 120 yards that rolled from the front of the green to the right edge then raised his arms in triumph after completing a two-putt par in the $100,000 event which served as the fifth leg of Philippine Golf Tour Asia and sixth stop of TPGA.

Counting his two birdies at the front, Lascuña closed out with a 34-36 for a 17-under 271 total worth $17,500 in a victory that washed away two years of struggle to regain the form that netted him a number of local titles and three PGT Order of Merit crown from 2013-14 and in 2016.