Sales units duel vs outdated ultimate foe

Gary Sales (left) conquers Perry Bucay. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

On the closing hollow, Gary Sales hit the worst pressure of his spherical that left him 341 yards to the outlet at the par-4 7th hollow, leaving him an implausible way along with his fit with Perry Bucay for a spot in Inquirer Golf’s National Tournament of Club Champions introduced via Lexus nonetheless tied.

He rose to the instance and now has all of the momentum and self belief he wishes as he weapons for a 3rd Men’s department name, which will be the maximum via any participant within the elite box’s historical past.

“I just looked at it as a no-tomorrow shot,” Sales stated in Filipino after he piped a 3-wood to inside 12 ft, sooner than canning the birdie putt for a 1-up win that put him within the Final Four. “It was a shot I might never forget. I was lucky to have pulled it off.”

The ex-tee boy-turned professional and now a success businessman supplied the most efficient display on an afternoon of shut suits at Eagle Ridge’s Dye format as he complicated for a rematch with Ricky delos Santos, a 1-up winner over Bayani Garcia.

Also advancing to the semifinals had been 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 persisted as he narrated how Pucay was once draining lengthy putts one by one. “I actually had no choice but to go for [the green].”

His fit with Delos Santos will likely be a reprisal in their 2015 name sport when Sales gained the primary of his two consecutive titles.

“He’s a very good player,” Sales stated of his semifinal foe at the same time as Rodel Mangulabnan and Abe Rosal sealed their semifinal fight in Senior play after posting contrasting wins.

Mangulabnan, a two-time Men’s titlist in the hunt for to win a 2d Senior plum, demolished Querubin Alcantara, 7&6, whilst Rosal, the Canlubang stalwart within the PAL Interclub, carved out a 3&2 victory over Nam Bo-hean.

The different Senior semis may have No. 1 Oscar Gallo going up towards third-ranked Theody Pascual, who scored 2&1 wins over Marvin Caparros and Choi Sean-ho, respectively.

Meanwhile, fourth-ranked Matet Salivio stayed on the right track against a 3rd Ladies name after a 6&5 rout of Annika Cruz for a Final Four fit with No. 9 Irene Jang, who demolished No. 1 Kim Kyung-ae, 6&5.

The different semifinal will pit No. 11 Arline Ward, a 1-up winner over third-ranked Inez del Rosario, towards No. 2 Roh Kyung-ae, who scored a 4&3 win over Denise Dennon.