ELMER SALVADOR

LIPA CITY, Batangas – Elmer Salvador outdueled Jay Bayron and Ferdie Aunzo in a final day shootout among Davaoeño shotmakers, closing out with a gutsy one-under 71 to capture the ICTSI Classic crown by two strokes at the Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club here last Thursday.

Salvador, who fired a 67 to catch Bayron and Aunzo at the helm after 36 holes, rode on two clutch pars at the front and a birdie from long range on the 17th then watched his rivals crack under pressure to essay the victory on an eight-under 208 aggregate. He won R200,000.

Bayron, winner of the Forest Hills leg last year, took the lead with a birdie on No. 11 but took a triple-bogey 7 on No. 13 when he drove out of bounds. He finished with a 73 for a 210 and took the runner-up honors worth R120,000 in the 54-hole tournament which served as the second leg of a 12-stage circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.

Aunzo, who scored his first pro win at Royal Northwoods last year, sputtered early with two bogeys in the first three holes but bounced back with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from No. 5.

He actually seized the solo lead after eight holes but three-putted No. 9 for bogey, enabling Salvador and Bayron to regain the lead on a two-shot swing with birdies on the par-5 hole.