Keanu Jahns unstoppable: win s back-to-back PGT crowns

MANILA – Keanu Jahns is turning the Philippine Golf Tour into his personal stage. The 29-year-old Fil-German unleashed another spectacular charge on Sunday, storming to the ICTSI Bacolod Golf Challenge title and completing back-to-back tour victories in emphatic fashion.

Jahns closed out the Bacolod leg with a sizzling third straight five-under-par 65 for a 72-hole aggregate of 262, four shots clear of Fidel Concepcion. The victory, worth ₱356,000, came just weeks after his Caliraya Springs triumph, stamping him as the hottest player in Philippine golf today.

And he sealed it with a finish for the ages. After grinding through the front nine with only one birdie, Jahns caught fire coming home – rolling in four birdies over his last six holes, including a tap-in at the 17th and a booming 32-foot dagger on the 18th that sent the gallery into a frenzy.

“I stayed very patient – I struggled on the front nine, made just one birdie and had to grind out a lot of up-and-downs,” Jahns said. “But I was fortunate to make a few birdies coming in.”

The final round had its share of drama. Concepcion briefly trimmed the gap to a single stroke with back-to-back birdies early, while three-time Asian Tour champion Angelo Que threatened with a fiery stretch capped by a pitch-in eagle for six-under through 11 holes. But Jahns never blinked, answering with a birdie blitz that crushed the chase.

Que eventually cooled off, settling for solo third with a 64 at 268. Aidric Chan rallied with a 67 for fourth at 269, while defending champion Reymon Jaraula (67), Tony Lascuña (65), and Korean Tae Won Ha (69) shared fifth at 270.

Still, the day belonged not only to Jahns. Korean Tae Soo Kim turned in the tournament’s lowest round – a bogey-free 63 that featured a pitch-in eagle on the par-4 sixth – to join Carl Corpus and Russell Bautista at eighth on 271. Dino Villanueva provided a flourish of his own, acing the par-3 18th with a 6-iron for his ninth career hole-in-one, though he settled for 24th at 281. Amateur Bobe Salahog earned bragging rights as low amateur with a joint 12th finish at 275.

With his twin triumphs, Jahns matched Que’s sweep of the first two PGT legs earlier this year and firmly established himself as the man to beat heading into the sixth leg at Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club starting today./PN