CEBU Country Club (CCC) caddy Rolando Pila finally bagged the crown after three finals appearances in the fourth MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championships at the CCC layouts on Friday, April 12.
Pila avoided a third defeat in style, coming back from three holes down in the first 18 holes of the 36-hole championship duel against fellow CCC player Harvey Sytiongsa.
The 48-year-old Pila put the finishing kick after converting a birdie putt at hole No. 36 to seal the men’s division title in the tournament organized by National Golf Association of the Philippines.
The Consolacion-native Pila made his move in the final holes of the match, making a par while Sytiongsa got a bogey in the par-3 No. 33 to tie the game.
Pila hit a birdie against Sytiongsa’s par in the next hole to eventually take the lead for the first time. Sytiongsa had the chance to put the game to a deadlock anew but he blew a birdie putt.
Pila made it sure that he would not suffer the same fate in the 2016 and 2017 championships against Rupert Zaragosa and Weiwei Gao, respectively, by converting a 9-foot putt that sealed the win.
“I thought of making it in two putts for a par. I’m glad that I made it on my first putt,” Pila told SunStar Cebu in Cebuano. He was in the same situation two years ago, losing to Gao in the playoff hole.
Pila, who has been a caddy since he was 15 years old, said this is his biggest win in his career. He even thinks of retiring from golf after the win.
“I’m very happy to finally win. I dedicate this to my family and to my sponsors. It was very tiring to play back-to-back 36 holes,” he said.
Sytiongsa, a member of the PAL Interclub team champion, congratulated Pila and was gracious in defeat.
“It was really a close game. I played well but Rolando Pila played better than me. I’m glad he won because for the past few years, he was second,” said Sytiongsa, who made it to the championship round for the first time in four tries.
“The next competition for me is the club championship. Hopefully, with my performance now, it will help me with my next competition.”
In the women’s division, Cebuana Junia Louise Gabasa bagged her second crown in the MVPSF tournament to bounce back from a second place finish last year.
The top-seeded Gabasa lived up to her billing after beating Cagayan de Oro City’s Pamela Mariano, 5 and 4, in the 36-hole championship.
Gabasa and No. 2 Mariano were even after 18 holes before breaking away in No. 23, 24 and 26. She took No. 31 and 32 to finish off Mariano.
“I just did not expect and did not get ahead of myself. I stayed focused, shot by shot and played my best. I did not think of the score. I just stayed focused and stayed on my routine,” said Gabasa, who also won the 2017 edition.
“My composure helped me and also my recent stint in Manila,” she added.
Masaichi Otake and Grace Pauline Quintanilla finished at third place in the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.