By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Tiffany Bernardino clinched a dramatic victory in the girls’ 13-15 category of the ICTSI-Junior Philippine Golf Tour Visayas series at the Bacolod Golf and Country Club in Bacolod City on Wednesday afternoon, June 26.

The 13-year-old Bernardino, who led from the start, secured the division crown with a clutch par on the 17th hole to finish with 85, narrowly edging out Rane Chiu and Alexie Gabi by one stroke with a total of 259 over 54 holes.

Despite a shaky start with a frontside 45, Bernardino rallied from one stroke down in the final two holes.

Her pivotal par on the challenging par-4 17th hole, which Chiu and Gabi both double-bogeyed, propelled her back into the lead.

“I couldn’t get my game going and wasn’t able to play my best,” the Makati City-native Bernardino said after the match.

“I was pressured but handled it by praying,” she added.

In the boys’ 13-15 division, Nyito Tiongko mirrored Bernardino’s wire-to-wire triumph, romping away with a 10-stroke victory despite an early challenge from Iloilo leg winner Inno Flores.

The 13-year-old Cebuano, who started the final round with an 11-stroke lead, stumbled with a frontside 46, but steadied his game with pars to finish with 84 and a total of 239.

Flores, who rallied with a frontside 39, lost momentum after pulling within two strokes with eight holes to play.

He played the last seven holes in eight-over, marred by a double bogey on the 16th, and wound up with 83 for 249.

“I never lost my confidence, even when Inno closed in,” said Tiongko, who overcame a quadruple bogey on the second hole and a triple bogey on the fourth.

The Top 2 players after the Visayas series will advance to the National Match Play Finals at The Country Club in October./ASC, WDJ