PGT Luisita Invitational

From Melbourne, it was a very quick turnaround with a Tuesday start for my next event. I flew in to the Philippines from Sydney on Monday and was fortunate enough to squeeze in 9 holes on Monday afternoon. It was working in my favour that I had already played this course twice this year (back in April) and so my main focus was to assess how the course was playing in terms of green and fairway speed/softness.

I was pleasantly surprised that despite all the rain the course had endured, it was presented in excellent condition. The only major difference is that the course was much more green than the past events here that were played during the dry season.

Round one got off to a good start, seeing me par my first hole and then reel off 5 birdies in a row out to get things moving. I would turn in 6 under par, 30 only to suffer a little in the extreme heat, bogeying my last two holes for a 4 under par, 68. Round two was a little more consistent, slowly chipping away to be 4 under through 15 holes, but again bogeying 16 and 17 to shoot another steady 2 under. Luckily I was able to keep it all in perspective, not let it worry me and focus on the weekend.

Round three I played quite steady again, shooting 3 under but losing some ground to the leaders who finished round 3 at 14 under par, whilst I sat 5 shots further back at 9 under par. I knew to have a chance at the top spot I would have to shoot a low round on the final day.

Round 4, I wasn’t sure what to expect and in what was without doubt, the best putting round I have ever had, I managed to turn in 4 under par on the back of 10 putts on the front nine. I kept this momentum running and despite a three-putt bogey on 13, I still picked up another 4 birdies on the back nine to shoot a very satisfying 7 under, 65. Total putts for the last round was 23, which was a personal best. This finish was good enough to see me sneak into Tied 2nd at 16 under par.

The past couple of weeks has not been without its disappointments, so it was really nice to be able to put 4 solid round together and get one of my best finishes of the year. I hope to keep this momentum rolling with the next event starting on Tuesday October 23, again at Luisita Country Club.