IT was a classic case of a veteran simply playing it easy and a young upstart suffering a meltdown.

The final-round faceoff expected to be tight and hot was doused by rain, but Singapore’s Mardan Mamat continued his steady play and finished with a 71 for an eight-under 280 to rule the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Philippine Open on Sunday at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.

Miguel Tabuena, who had scorched the recently remodeled East course on Saturday with a tournament-best 67 to move within a hairline of the lead and set up a tantalizing Sunday showdown between a veteran and sophomore, crumbled under the extreme pressure and closed out with an 81 to wind up joint 11th at 291.

Instead, it was Antonio Lascuna who put some spark into things with a three-under 69, but it was simply not enough to put heat on Mamat.

Healthy Lascuna shines

THE 287 total put Lascuna, who started the day in joint eighth, finished on one-under 287 for joint third place. That matched his previous best in the Open, in 2002 also at Wack Wack.

Lascuna fired four birdies in a flawless front nine, including three straight from No. 3. He dropped one to start the homeward nine and quickly took it back on No. 11 before slipping back with a final-hole bogey.

Korea’s Mo Joong-kyung closed out with a 68 and finished alone in second place at 285, while first-round co-leader Azuma Yano of Japan had a 70 to join Lascuna in third place.

“Maganda ang laro ngayon,” said Lascuna, crediting the newfound groove to his new “healthier” lifestyle.

Health issues—specifically gout—kept him from contending last year but said a change in nutrition, especially limiting alcohol intake, has helped him a lot.

“Focus tayo ngayon sa laro, sa campaign natin sa Asian Tour,” said Lascuna, who pocketed $16,545.

Veteran savvy

MAMAT, who joined the Tour the year Tabuena was born, started cool under some light drizzle perhaps keeping in mind that only flightmates Tabuena and Mo were close enough to make a charge while none from those who started early managed to put up a mighty bid.

Winner of the Asian Tour’s Royal Indian Challenge in 2004 and the 2006 Singapore Masters co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, Mamat racked up the pars with one birdie on the front. It became apparent he need not make bold moves to stay ahead, although he still hit birdie on the 14th and was well clear of the field that bogey on the finishing hole didn’t matter as he knelt and kissed the green after holing out.

“It may have looked easy but it wasn’t easy,” said Mamat. “If I say I wasn’t pressured that would be lying, but i managed to calm myself down.”

“I just tried to be patient all the time...no stupid mistakes. . .put the ball in play all the time and not be angry because this course would cause you to blow up,” said Mamat, who bagged $47,550, an Omega Seamaster Aquaterra watch and a BlackBerry smartphone.

Early mishap

IT took all of one hole to unravel for the young Tabuena.

Bogey right on the first hole apparently rattled the 17-year-old parbuster, and although mounting an early charge wasn’t part of the game plan, it seemed to go on automatic.

“The plan was to just hit fairways and greens, but it happened a bit quick, and if you’re rushing in Wack Wack you’re gonna find trouble,” said Tabuena, who admitted the pressure got the best of him and the confidence seemed to seep away right after the opening hole.

“I tried to do more than I had planned.”

A crowd went to follow the young lad—three or four deep surrounding the greens—and unlike the previous day when some 40 people saw part of his round and the birdies came in bunches, it was a struggle all day Sunday.

He bogeyed every other hole on the outward nine with two birdies and things got even messier going back, with a triple-bogey on the par-four No. 10 and a heartbreaking bogey-bogey windup.

Still, it was $4,695 in the bag and precious lessons for the lad.

“Mardan told me I have a bright future ahead of me,” said Tabuena, who lists keeping his card as his top priority this year.

Angelo Que had a 71 and also finished in 11th place after starting the day joint 23rd.