Pucay, Lascuna golf duo finishes 4th

BAGUIO born Mars Pucay and compatriot Antonio Lascuna finished strong at the close of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup Asian Qualifying in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, but failed to earn a seat in the World Cup.

Pucay and Lascuna, who shot a 278 (70-73-63-72) in the three-day competition, placed fourth behind eventual winners New Zealand, Singapore and Korea.

In fact, the duo showed sign of resurgence after moving up one notch in the standings but hardly dented the lead of Singaporeans Lam Chih-Bing and Mardan Mamat in the second round.

Pucay and Lascuna, who hobbled with four bogeys as against a lone birdie for a 39 at the turn, salvaged a two-under 73 in the foursomes format and recovered in the final nine with a 34.

Lam and Mamat continued their dominance in the two-man team competition with 133 in midway through at the Seri Selangor Golf Club where a total of 16 teams vied for the three berths to the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China from November 24 to 27.

New Zealand, Singapore and Korea qualified for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup after finishing as the top three teams in the Asian Qualifying event.

Lam Chih Bing and Mardan Mamat will represent Singapore for the fifth time in the World Cup after finishing second behind New Zealand.

The Singaporeans conceded a playoff to the New Zealand duo of Michael Hendry and Gareth Paddison, who made up a five-shot overnight deficit with a closing foursomes score of four-under-par 67, highlighted by a chip-in birdie from the greenside bunker on the last hole at the Seri Selangor Golf Club. The two teams finished tied on 13-under-par 271.