Sales sets duel vs old final foe
On the last hole, Gary Sales hit the worst drive of his round that left him 341 yards to the hole on the par-4 seventh hole, leaving him an improbable approach with his match with Perry Bucay for a place in Inquirer Golf’s National Tournament of Club Champions presented by Lexus still tied.
He rose to the occasion and now has all the momentum and confidence he needs as he guns for a third Men’s division title, which would be the most by any player in the elite field’s history.
“I just looked at it as a no-tomorrow shot,” Sales said in Filipino after he piped a 3-wood to within 12 feet, before canning the birdie putt for a 1-up win that put him in the Final Four. “It was a shot I might never forget. I was lucky to have pulled it off.”
The ex-tee boy-turned pro and now successful businessman provided the best show on a day of close matches at Eagle Ridge’s Dye layout as he advanced for a rematch with Ricky delos Santos, a 1-up winner over Bayani Garcia.
Also advancing to the semifinals were No. 2 Ace Stehmeier and third-seed Masaichi Otake, who bundled out Ruel Cabral and Richard Joson, 1-up and 2&1, in that order.
“I was fortunate to have made it out of that match,” Sales continued as he narrated how Pucay was draining long putts one after the other. “I actually had no choice but to go for [the green].”
His match with Delos Santos will be a reprisal of their 2015 title game when Sales won the first of his two consecutive titles.
“He’s a very good player,” Sales said of his semifinal foe even as Rodel Mangulabnan and Abe Rosal sealed their semifinal battle in Senior play after posting contrasting wins.
Mangulabnan, a two-time Men’s titlist seeking to win a second Senior plum, demolished Querubin Alcantara, 7&6, while Rosal, the Canlubang stalwart in the PAL Interclub, carved out a 3&2 victory over Nam Bo-hean.
The other Senior semis will have No. 1 Oscar Gallo going up against third-ranked Theody Pascual, who scored 2&1 wins over Marvin Caparros and Choi Sean-ho, respectively.
Meanwhile, fourth-ranked Matet Salivio stayed on course towards a third Ladies title after a 6&5 rout of Annika Cruz for a Final Four match with No. 9 Irene Jang, who demolished No. 1 Kim Kyung-ae, 6&5.
The other semifinal will pit No. 11 Arline Ward, a 1-up winner over third-ranked Inez del Rosario, against No. 2 Roh Kyung-ae, who scored a 4&3 win over Denise Dennon.
