Jacob Rolida and Aidric Chan came away with a pair of routs to kick off their respective title drive at the start of the knockout phase of the fourth MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championships at Cebu Country Club yesterday.
The top seeded Rolida took the first three holes against No. 16 Fernando Mondares with a par game, won two more holes at the turn before wrapping up with a par-birdie-par binge from No. 10 for an 8 and 6 romp while Chan, who placed second after the 36-hole stroke play elims Tuesday, also used a strong frontside attack to oust Weiyu Gao, 5 and 3, and advance to the quarterfinals of the event serving as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Tour and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.
No. 8 Harvey Sytiongsa likewise started out strong but had to fend off the rallying ninth seed Carl Corpus in the stretch, clinching a 2-up victory on a birdie-par windup to seal a Last 8 clash with Rolida.
Corpus battled back from four down with a big backside fightback, winning the first three holes at the back and forcing an all-square game with a birdie on No. 14. But he stumbled at the finish while Sytiongsa recovered his bearing and birdied the 17th before clinching the win as Corpus bogeyed the last while trying to extend the match.