Cebu golf hotshots Gen Nagai and Weiwei Gao gave good account of themselves as they finished in second and fifth, respectively, at the close of the Philippine Amateur (Stroke Play) Open Golf Championship at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club’s Aoki course in Cavite yesterday.
Nagai, the freshman ace of the Seton Hall University Pirates golf team in the US NCAA who got his career start at the Cebu Country Club, tried his best to pursue leader Jobim Carlos but just could not do so.
He finished with an even-par 72 for a 289, seven behind Carlos, who took the crown in his final amateur tournament with a three-over 75 and four-day aggregate of 282.
Gao, the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club and Center for International Education British School standout, closed the competition out with a 75 and ended up tied for fifth with Korean Jag Yu Bin with a total of 301.
Carlos had the lead and the title well in hand after a scintillating third round performance that saw him shoot a bogey-free 66 and head to the final round ahead by 10.
The 23-year-old shotmaker is also set to join the local pro tour starting next month after finishing fourth in the recent Q-School, which he actually topped last year before deciding to stay in the ranks and further hone up his talent and skills.
Playing pressure-free in the final round, Carlos bounced back from a bogey on No. 2 with two birdies to close out his frontside stint then just went through the motions at the back, making bogeys on Nos. 10 and 12 before dropping two shots on the par-5 16th, miscues he could afford given the huge lead he had built after 54 holes.
Korean Jang Jun Ha ended up in third with a 73 for a 293 followed by Aidric Chan who got fourth place with a 73 for 298.
On the distaff side, the diminutive Harmie Constantino padded her lead over Lee to 10 after 10 holes on two birdies.