Mondilla ends slump, coasts to 5-shot romp

ANTIPOLO—With a huge lead, Clyde Mondilla re-calibrated his attacking kind of game to a subdued one and secured a first championship in three years – winning the ICTSI Forest Hills Classic crown by five over Angelo Que and Dino Villanueva despite a 72 at the Nicklaus course here on Friday.

It was virtually his since he unleashed a scorching 11-under 60 behind aggressive play in preferred conditions Tuesday and kept attacking the hilly par-71 layout in the next two days to produce 66 and 68 and a whopping six-stroke bulge with 18 holes to play in the P2 million championship.

He didn’t need a blast to cap a remarkable four-day campaign in the seventh leg of this year’s Philippine Golf Tour. In fact, Mondilla faltered with his first over-par round on a course he ripped and a field he clipped with his near-impeccable play.

But it hardly mattered as the Del Monte ace shifted to conservative play after birdying the first two holes and bogeying three of the next four. He parred the rest for a pair of 36s and an 18-under 266 total and beat Que, who took the challenger’s role with a fiery 64 Thursday but could only match par 71, and a late-charging Villanueva, who closed out with back-toback 66s, by five strokes.

“I just played it safe at the back since Nos. 10, 11 and 12 are very tricky. But it wasn’t after I hit my drive on No. 17 that I knew it’s (win) mine,” said Mondilla, whose wife Mae is expecting their second child next month.”

“Swerte din at sobrang blessed talaga,” he added

But he admitted to have felt some kind of pressure after those spate of bogeys, saying: “Yes, there was pressure but I was able to handle it with my run of pars,” said Mondilla.

He banked P350,000, the bulk of which he would use to support an Asian Development Tour campaign in Thailand next month, while Que and Villanueva, who matched 271s, shared the combined second and third prizes of P360,000.

The margin of victory paled in comparison to Rupert Zaragosa’s nine-stroke romp over Tony Lascuña in the Iloilo stop of the country’s premier circuit put up by ICTSI. But the way Mondilla dominated the field and the course with his solid driving, superb iron game and putting—making his first bogey only after the 50th hole—only underscored the talent and skills of the multi-titled player who went on a slump after topping the most crowded playoff cast – five – in PGT history at Pradera Verde in 2020 where he rallied from six down to earn a spot in sudden death.