Juvic Pagunsan coasts to 7-shot win vs Angelo Que

SILANG, Cavite, Philippines — Juvic Pagunsan took one big step towards a dream Philippine Open crown, scoring an emphatic seven-shot victory over Angelo Que in the ICTSI Riviera Golf Challenge in the runup to next week’s 101st staging of the country’s premier championship.

An early birdie-binge cushioned the impact of a shaky finish for the smooth-swinging shotmaker, who stormed to a four-stroke lead with a 66 Friday then pulled away by seven with three birdies in the first 10 holes at the Langer layout yesterday.

He stumbled with a double-bogey on No. 14 on an wayward drive into the bamboo trees whlie Que birdied that hole to bring  the lead back to where it stood in the third round.  Pagunsan returned the compliment two holes later, birdying the par-5 16th which Que double-bogeyed to pave the way for a whopping seven-shot triumph in his very first foray on the Philippine Golf Tour Asia.

“I played solid at the front. Though I wavered at the finish, I kept my cool knowing I’ve got a huge lead,” said Pagunsan, who closed out with a 70 for a 72-hole total of six-under 278.

The victory, whom he later shared with wife Maria Elena, daughter LJ and son PJ, was his second since marking his return to the local circuit with a playoff win over Jobim Carlos in PGT Bacolod last August. It also matched PGT Asia’s winning margin record previously set by Jhonnel Ababa over Elmer Salvador in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational last year.

More importantly, it primed Asia’s former No. 1 up for next week’s Solaire Philippine Open at The Country Club.

“It’s a big boost heading to the Phl Open,” added Pagunsan, who received the top purse of $17,500 from organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. executive director Narlene Soriano during awards rites of the penultimate leg of the 10-stage second season of the region’s newest circuit put up by ICTSI.