Both men finished the dramatic final round of a tournament already reduced to 54 holes tied on 14 under par on Sunday, but two attempts at a sudden-death playoff failed under the leaden and stormy skies over Sentosa Golf Club.
The entire field had completed their third rounds in a five-hour window between weather warnings but the joint leaders were only able to tee off on the par-5 18th playoff hole before the threat of thunder sent them back to the clubhouse.
After a 90-minute delay, both men returned to lay up short of the green as buggies rushed them down the sodden fairway to speed up the action, but the heavens opened once more and after two hours of non-stop rain, play was abandoned for the day.
The Monday finish, the second in a row, represents a huge disappointment for the players, organizers and fans, who had finally been rewarded for their patience after three days of frustrating breaks with a nail-biting final round.
In regulation play, Pagunsan drained a 12-foot birdie putt on the last to record a four-under 67 before overnight leader Fernandez-Castano recovered to hole a similar-length putt for par after finding water off the tee.
“It was a nice putt as I saw Gonzalo’s drive was in the water,” the ever-smiling Pagunsan told reporters. “In my mind, I thought I was going to win, not in a playoff.
“But he made the putt also. I’m still here and will wait for a result tomorrow.”
The Spaniard had held a four-stroke lead at the turn and appeared to be cruising to victory, but a dramatic collapse on the back nine led to him dropping three shots as the pressure began to tell on the 31-year-old over the closing holes.
“It was a tough day out there, one of the toughest I have ever had,” the Spaniard admitted.
“The heat was brutal and my game was no good. I was feeling the pressure because it’s been a long time without a victory and I want to win this one desperately.”
The 33-year-old Pagunsan had slipped under the radar in his pursuit of a first European Tour victory, playing a solid bogey-free round to close on the leaders as one by one the contenders threatened before falling away.
“I’m really happy that I’ve saved my (Asian Tour) card for next year now,” Pagusan added. “I am hoping to win still. I’ll go back and have a good rest and get ready for the playoff.”
Should Fernandez-Castano seal victory in the $6-million co-sanctioned event, it will be his fifth on the European Tour and first since 2008, when he edged out Lee Westwood in a playoff for the British Masters.
“It has been another long day waiting around but tomorrow is a new day and anything can happen,” Fernandez-Castano added. “We are both in a good position on the fairway.”
Anthony Kim (64) and Louis Oosthuizen (65) stormed up the leaderboard to finish one behind the leading pair, with New Zealand’s Danny Lee, Dutchman Joost Luiten and Italy’s Edoardo Molinari a further shot back in a tie for fifth place.
European Tour tournament director Mike Stewart confirmed the players would return at 7:30 a.m. local time (2330 GMT on Sunday) to complete the playoff.
“We had a small window of opportunity which we tried to take. We got the players out and they hit one more shot but we had to bring them in again,” he said.
“It was dangerous out there. There was lightning flying around.”
