Micah Shin did more than enough in his victory march on Friday, shooting a two-under-par 70 to win the ICTSI Apo Golf Classic by a whopping nine shots and bookend his PGT season with wins on two of the toughest challenges in the circuit.
The Korean-American, who learned to play the game at a high level over the tree-lined layout he called home as a child, broke par all four round-the only player in the talented field to do so-to tally a 271 for the win over Sean Ramos.
‘It’s always fun playing here because there are so many talented players,’ Shin said after going two-for-two this season, counting his win at The Country Club Invitational last February.
Russell Bautista, who gave a credible chase at the start of the round only to lose steam and sign for a 73, finished third, another shot behind Ramos. While Clyde Mondilla, the champion last week at nearby South Pacific, fired a 72 for 283.
‘It was actually a tough day today,’ Shin, who has since returned to Korea, said as only eight players submitted subpar final round scores. Incidentally, the same number of players wound up with under-par cards for the tournament, the last of them being Order of Merit leader Angelo Que, who signed for a 71 for 287.
Heavy overnight rains had forced a delay at the start of the final round, allowing the course to recover and the maintenance crew to attend to areas affected by the downpour. But the interruption did little to disrupt Shin’s rhythm, as he remained firmly in control from start to finish.
Shin’s nine-shot romp fell way short of the 12-shot margin posted by Lloyd Go over Jeff Lumbo at Pinewoods last July. Still, it was a clinical display of dominance, even if the champion himself felt he was far from playing his best golf.