South Korean Jung rules PGT Qualifying School

SOUTH Korean Jaehyun Jung overcame a shaky start to capture the Philippine Golf Tour Qualifying School low medal honors despite a 74, edging out Carl Corpus by a single stroke in a dramatic final round at Splendido Taal Golf Club in Batangas.

Jung, who opened with back-to-back bogeys, steadied himself with a run of pars and two crucial birdies on the back nine.

Meanwhile, Corpus mounted an early charge, stringing three birdies over four holes to erase a five-shot deficit and force a tie at three-under. However, a bogey on the seventh and a costly double bogey on the ninth halted his momentum.

Although the Filipino standout rebounded with consecutive birdies after the turn, Jung reasserted control with birdies on Nos. 10 and 15.

Despite closing with back-to-back bogeys, his final-round two-over par card secured a three-under-par 285 total, besting Corpus' 286 to claim top honors in his first PGT Q-School appearance.

Corpus closed out with a 70.

"Overall, I remained patient with my game, knowing that I woke up with a stiff neck and wasn't expecting much," said Jung. "I just focused on doing my best out there."

"I made a few mistakes early on, but I trusted myself to recover on this course and stayed patient. My birdie on the 10th helped restore my confidence, allowing me to settle in and play better," he added.

Japan's Yuto Hayaski (73) and Atsushi Ueda (72) finished third and fourth with 292 and 293, respectively, in the four-day elims organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

A total of 30 players secured their PGT Tour cards, with the new season kicking off on Monday (Feb. 24) at Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club in Lubao, Pampanga.

Among them were Orland Sumcad (73), Christopher Popp (75), Myung Chal Hwang (77) and Taewon Ha (77), who tied for 27th at 308.

Christopher delos Santos placed fifth with 295 after a 76, while Tae Won Kim (68), Toru Nakajima (71) and Paul Echaves (76) shared sixth at 296.

James Ryan Lam regained his Tour card with a 298 total after a 73, while Ivan Monsalve (72) and Dan Cruz (75) finished tied for 10th at 299.

Other qualifiers included Josh Jorge (74-300), Jhondie Quibol (77-300), Carlos Packing (74-301), GJ Katigbak (72-302), Junichi Katayama (74-302), Jonas Magcalayo (75-303), Yudai Nakakuki (72-303), Jonas Magcalayo (75-303), Tom Guerrero (77-303) and Belem Arancon (80-303); John Michael Uy (78-304), Ji Sung Cheon (78-305), Lee Song (72-306), Qawim Aslimon (80-306), Rey Pagunsan (81-306), and Luis Bagtas (79-307).

Missing out by just one stroke were Angelo Anzuris (77) and former national champion Anthony Fernando (79), both finishing at 309.

Anzuris' bogey-double bogey-bogey finish and Fernando's three straight closing bogeys proved costly.

Amateur Paolo Wong posted a total score of 308 after carding a 79, tying for 27th place. However, he was relegated to Category 7 status, along with Anzures, Fernando and 26 others.

With 10 events scheduled for the new PGT season, the qualifiers will now shift their focus to competing among the country's top professionals as they chase titles across some of the Philippines' premier championship courses.