Two young golfers stepped up at The Country Club on Friday and walked away with statement victories in the ICTSI Match Play Invitational.
Keanu Jahns set the tone early in the men’s finals. He recovered from a shaky opening hole, buried a 12-footer on the second to tie the match, and slowly took control from there. His length off the tee and cleaner putting carried him through the back nine, where he won two of the first five holes after the turn. That run pushed him three holes ahead of Guido van der Valk, and he closed out the match, 3&2.
Jahns pocketed ₱280,000 and wrapped up a strong season that also featured wins in Caliraya Springs and Bacolod.
“After the first hole, everything settled,” he said. “My putting came alive and my driving was solid.”
In the women’s finals, Mafy Singson expected a tight match but ended up dominating Martina Miñoza, 6&5. Her putter, cold for most of the week, finally cooperated. She opened with a birdie and built a commanding five-up lead at the turn.
The win meant more than the trophy or the ₱280,000 prize. Singson lost her grandfather 40 days ago, and she dedicated the victory to him.
“When it started raining right after, I felt like it was him,” she said.
Singson also won at Eagle Ridge earlier this year, but this one mattered in a different way. TCC had been a course she struggled with, and solving it marked a personal milestone.
Miñoza took home ₱200,000 for second place. Harmie Constantino claimed third after beating Daniella Uy, 4&3.