STA. ROSA, Laguna. – Guido Van der Valk threatened to turn what had been a furious battle into a blowout but floundered at the finish, barely holding on to a two-stroke lead over Zanieboy Gialon with a 74 in brutal conditions in The Country Club Invitational here Thursday.
The Dutchman looked headed to surviving the toughest of tests at the TCC in three days, staying steady and in control of his game and of the field in howling winds and keeping a five-shot lead after 15 holes over his nearest pursuer.
But he made a couple of what he termed as “silly mistakes” that led to two bogeys in the last three holes that enabled Gialon and a charging Lloyd Go to make a run for the coveted championship staked on every Philippine Golf Tour season.
“I’m a little bit disappointed with the end-result because I played really good for about 15 holes and then just had a couple of bad swings in the end,” rued Van der Valk, who also bogeyed the tough No. 13 for the third straight day. “A bad drive on No. 16 cost me a bogey and had a horrible shot into the water on No. 18.”
Still, he remained on top at five-over 221, two strokes clear of Gialon who, in contrast, closed out with a flourish, birdying two of the last five holes to match Van der Valk’s two-over card for 223 and stay from where he stood at after 36 holes of the P6 million championship.
Despite Van der Valk’s faltering windup, Gialon remained impressed with the former’s game and poise, particularly after he fell by as many as seven with a bogey on No. 11.
