By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA Rico Hoey carded a closing one-under-par 71 to finish tied for 12th place in the Corales Puntacana Championships in Dominican Republic over the weekend. The Fil-American picked up two late birdies in the last six holes to make up for stumbling to three bogeys. He also birdied Nos. 4 and 8. He finished with a 10-under 278 after earlier rounds of 68, 68 and 71, just four shots behind eventual champion Garrick Higgo. The South African shot a steady 72 for 274 for a one-stroke lead over Argentinean Alejandro Tosti, who propelled 13 notches with an eagle-aided last-round 68. Higgo banked on his strong first-round performance where he sizzled with a 64, then followed it up with a 68 and a 70 to also go home with the $720,000 lion’s share of this $4 million event. Hoey, meanwhile, pocketed $77,000 (around P4.3 million).