Desert Prince
There seems to be something about the arid and hot conditions in the Sahara that are making that part of the world a fertile hunting ground for young Filipino pros.
Last Saturday 22-year old Sean Ramos captured the Egypt Golf Series 13 to claim his first Asian Development Tour crown and the US$21,875 prize that comes with it. Shooting below 70 on all four days, Ramos’ total of -18 262 was a stroke better than that of Norway’s August Thor Host.
Ramos duplicates the feats of Carl Corpus and Aidric Chan, Filipino cousins and childhood junior golf mates who improbably won back-to-back legs of the Asian Development Tour’s Morocco swing last year.
Ramos entered the final round of the tournament with the 54-hole lead, and things looked encouraging when he holed out for an eagle on hole nine of the Madinaty Golf Club outside Cairo. Three more birdies in the succeeding holes put him in a great position to lock down the title. But Host had other ideas, seizing the clubhouse lead with a sensational seven-under par 63.
That set up a nervous 72nd hole for the Filipino, who, leading by two, played it conservatively, bogeyed, and wrapped up the tournament by a stroke with a closing 65.
“I am very happy because I lost my Asian Tour card last year by a hair. So yeah, just thankful to be able to compete out there again and show some good golf out there as well,” said the Filipino who, as always, was accompanied on the course by his girlfriend and sometimes caddie, Laurea Duque, who is also an accomplished golfer in her own right.
The title catapults Ramos into second in the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit, meaning he has the inside track on regaining full status in the main Asian Tour for 2027.
It has been a terrific season in the Asian second tier for Ramos, who has already finished runner-up twice this year before breaking through in Egypt.
Ramos will get a 72-hole mulligan at the Madinaty Golf Club. The Egypt Golf Series 14 is being played this week at the same Robert Trent Jones junior layout, and another fine performance could boost Ramos’ standing in the ADT even further. As of press time the Filipino from DLSZ is in a share of 17th after a solid two-under 68 in the opening round, four off the lead of Pukhraj Singh Gill of India.
Ramos is continuing a fine trend of elite Filipinos winning tournaments abroad. Rianne Malixi won an NCAA tournament in Jacksonville, Florida in January. Last July Grace Quintanilla emerged in a marathon five hole sudden death playoff to lift the Singapore Amateur ladies trophy. A few weeks ago it was rising star Miguel Ilas’ turn to shine, emerging victorious in a three-way playoff to win the prestigious Singha Thailand Amateur Open at the Panya Indra Golf Club.
The best is yet to come for Ramos and the rest of the Filipino youth movement in golf.
