TOKYO—Juvic Pagunsan closed out with a one-under par 70 on Sunday to wind up in 55th place in a field of 60 in the men’s competition golf at the Tokyo Olympics.
Pagunsan, 43, never got better after opening the event with a 66 at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. He finished with a four-day total of one-over 285, 19 shots behind gold medal winner Xander Shauffele of the US.
Shauffele salvaged a par from a difficult position in the rough after a bad drive to clinch the gold medal on a closing 67 for 266, one shot ahead of South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini who closed with a fiery 61.
Pagunsan, only the second Filipino male golfer to see action in the Olympics after Miguel Tabuena when the sport made a comeback in Rio de Janeiro four years ago, was tied for fifth after Day One but faded following rounds of 73 and 76.
The Bacolod-born pro showed some signs of life when three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the third role got him back to even par.
But Pagunsan never bought another birdie from there before closing his Olympic debut with a bogey at the 500-yard par-4 closing hole.
On Wednesday, it will be the turn of US Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso and LPGA campaigner Bianca Pagdanganan to go for gold, also in the same layout.
