Van der Valk nips Tabuena in playoff

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Guido van der Valk gets his putting touch working to be in early contention

Guido van der Valk drained a birdie putt from a “long, long way off” on the 72nd hole on Friday to force a playoff and then beat Miguel Tabuena on the first hole of sudden death to claim the P2 million ICTSI Splendido Taal Championship crown in Laurel, Batangas.

The Dutchman, a long-time Philippine resident, closed regulation with a four-under-par 68, good enough to just catch Tabuena at 272 after the two-time PH Open champ conquered the hilly layout with a 64 in the group ahead.

But a par was good enough to win the third leg of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. as Tabuena pulled his drive on their return to the 18th tee.

“That’s ridiculous. It’s probably the longest putt I ever made in my career to get a crack at the championship, But it happens,” said Van der Valk. “I was just lucky it went in.”

Clyde Mondilla, the leader by seven after 36 holes who started the day two ahead of Van der Valk, submitted a 74 for 276, while Antonio Lascuña, the former Order of Merit winner playing out of Manila Southwoods, matched par to be another two shots behind.

Van Der Valk was the only player in the 60-strong field to crack par, while Mondilla, after playing the first 36 holes at 14-under, played the last two days at four-over to fail to win after two runner-up finishes this season.