Confident Arbole guns for back-to-back titles in Iloilo

MANILA, Philippines — Art Arbole’s confidence is soaring after finally ending a 14-year title drought – and for a change, he knows he won’t be sneaking up on anybody. The newly crowned ICTSI Negros Occidental Classic champion embraces the bullseye as the Philippine Golf Tour shifts to Iloilo, where he expects the Tour’s big guns, seasoned campaigners and emerging stars to come after him when the ICTSI Iloilo Golf Challenge gets going on Sept. 29 at the Iloilo Golf and Country Club. But Arbole says he is feeling more determined than nervous, buoyed by the belief that his breakthrough victory has finally erased the doubts that had lingered through years of near-misses. “Cloud 9 pa rin ang pakiramdam ko. Yung confidence ko mas tumaas kasi dati parang may takot ako na wala pa ding mangyayari sa laro ko,” said Arbole, who put together one of the most complete performances of his career in Negros. The Del Monte native, now based in Canlubang, bucked the odds in dramatic fashion, overcoming a shaky stretch that saw him surrender a one-stroke lead and fall three shots behind former Order of Merit winner Jhonnel Ababa. Instead of folding, Arbole responded with a birdie barrage from No. 9 that turned...