Jacob Rolida and Aidric Chan came away with a pair of routs to kick off their respective title drive at the start of the knockout phase of the fourth MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championships at Cebu Country Club yesterday.
The top seeded Rolida took the first three holes against No. 16 Fernando Mondares with a par game, won two more holes at the turn before wrapping up with a par-birdie-par binge from No. 10 for an 8&6 romp.
Chan, who placed second after the 36-hole stroke play elims Tuesday, also used a strong frontside attack to oust Weiyu Gao, 5&3, and advance to the quarterfinals of the event serving as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Tour and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.
No. 8 Harvey Sytiongsa likewise fended off ninth seed Carl Corpus in the stretch, clinching a 2-up victory on a birdie-par windup to seal a Last 8 clash with Rolida.
Masaichi Otake, meanwhile, pulled off a big reversal as the No. 12 bet upended fifth ranked Joseph Alvarez, 2-up, to arrange a quarters showdown with No. 4 Joaquin Gomez, who also nipped No. 13 Alfredo Cabajar, 1-up.
Otake outsteadied Alvarez in a pressure-packed backside duel, pouncing on Alvarez’s pick-up on No. 14 and completing a 2-up win with a closing par.
Gomez fought back from 2-down after 11 and went 1-up with three holes left but triple bogeyed No. 16, needing the birdie the last to barge into the next round of the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, PLDT Group, Cignal and Metro Pacific and hosted by CCC.
Chan will take on No. 7 Luigi Wong, who thumped Santino Laurez, 5&4, while third ranked Rolando Pila also routed Mark Dy, 5&4, for a showdown with No. 6 Martin Mendoza, who outlasted Mikhael Ybañez, 2&1.
Meanwhile, Junia Gabasa and Pamela Mariano, who took the top two spots in their side of the tournament, step up their respective bids after drawing opening round byes with the former facing off with No. Wilma Fantonial and the latter clashing with Marie Suelo in today’s semifinal round in the ladies division.
Fantonial edged Ma. Mirasol Panong, 1-up, while Suelo likewise drew a bye in the tournament which also pits Kristine Fleetwood against Ashley Llena, and Grace Quintanilla versus Cleer Flores.
