Guido van der Valk of the Netherlands holds his trophy during the awarding ceremony of the ICTSI Forest Hills Classic in Antipolo City on Friday (June 6, 2025). He fired a 70 for a 12-under 272 and won by one stroke. (Contributed photo)
Guido van der Valk of the Netherlands held his nerve on the final hole to claim a narrow one-shot victory in the ICTSI Forest Hills Classic on Friday in Antipolo City.
The 45-year-old Dutchman carded a final-round 70 to finish at 12-under 272, securing the PHP430,000 winner’s purse.
“No. 18 isn’t the easiest hole — there’s a lot of trouble out there,” van der Valk said. “But I hit a good drive and followed it up with a really nice second shot. That helped me settle down a bit and close it out.”
Van der Valk matched Aidric Chan’s front-nine 31 and surged ahead with a birdie on the 10th. However, bogeys on holes 12, 15, and 17 allowed Keanu Jahns, Angelo Que, and Reymon Jaraula to creep back into contention.
“I didn’t start off great with my approach shots, but I was able to save pars,” van der Valk noted. “From No. 5 onwards, I found my rhythm and made four straight birdies. But I got a little defensive on the back nine, and that’s when the mistakes came. Still, I managed to hang in there.”
Jahns mounted a late charge with five birdies in the last eight holes, including one on 18, to post a 66 and finish at 11-under 273. Que also made a strong push, firing the day’s best round — a 64 featuring seven birdies — to tie Jahns for second.
Van der Valk had shown good form earlier in the season, finishing fourth at Pradera Verde and runner-up to Que at Eagle Ridge.
Jahns and Que split the PHP430,000 pot reserved for the second and third places. Jaraula took solo fourth with a 72, finishing at 274.
Jeffren Lumbo delivered a 66 to secure fifth place at 275, while Chan, who stumbled with a back-nine 40, ended up sixth at 276 after a 71.
Fidel Concepcion followed with a 67 to claim seventh at 278. Rounding out the top finishers were Russel Bautista (70) at 282, Carl Corpus (72) at 283, and the trio of Clyde Mondilla (71), Atsushi Ueda (74), and Justin Quiban (75), who all tied for 10th at 284.