AN emotional Mardan Mamat of Singapore coasted to a comfortable five-stroke victory at the ICTSI Philippine Open to end a six-year winless run on Sunday.

The 44-year-old picked up his third Asian Tour victory with a closing one-under-par 71 at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s East course to complete a commanding wire-to-wire victory with an eight-under-par 280 aggregate.

Mo Joong-kyung of Korea threatened briefly before finishing a distant second in the US$300,000 Asian Tour event, signing off with a 74, while top Filipino honors went to Antonio Lascuna, who returned a 69 for tied third place with Japan’s Azuma Yano, who signed for a 70.

However, it was a heartbreaker for Filipino teenager Miguel Tabuena, who started the final round one shot back of Mardan, but faded badly with an 81 to settle for a share of 11th position.

After tapping in for his lone bogey on the 18th, Mardan fell on his knees to celebrate his return into the winner’s enclosure. He later broke in tears when asked if thoughts of not winning had crept into his mind during his barren years.

“My wife (Naz) encouraged and pushed me a lot to practice. She said you love the game so much and why must you quit. There was a time when I said it was time for me to be a golf coach but she said not in your dreams,” said a teary-eyed Mardan.