63rd PAL INTERCLUB FOUNDERS CLASS: Cebu stays at 4th going into final round

Bacolod City , Philippines  – Cebu Country Club failed to make a major move yesterday in its bid to defend the Founders Division title in the 63rd Philippine Airlines Interclub Golf Tournament as tough course conditions at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club took its toll on many players.

Manila Southwoods held on to the lead of the second-ranked division with a three-day total of 352 points (108-134-110) followed by co-host Negros with 348 (109-127-112) and at third is Del Monte with 345 points (117-120-108).

Cebu Country Club has a three-day total of 340 points on rounds of 117, 116, and 107.

LJ Go, the club’s 15-year-old rookie, once again led Cebu with 31 points yesterday. Also counting for the club yesterday were cousins Bayani Garcia and Jovi Neri with 26 points apiece and Marko Sarmiento with 24. Jojo Tiongko, the replacement for Eric Deen, shot 22 points and did not count in the five-to-play, four-to-count format.

Set to play for Cebu on the last round today at the Bacolod Golf and Country Club in the town of Murcia, are skipper Montito Garcia, veteran Carl Almario, 14-year-old Gio Gandionco, Chuckie Hong, and Tiongko.

Santa Elena is at fifth with 328 followed by Mactan Island Golf club with 318 on rounds of 103, 113, and 102.

Junjun Cabajar led Mactan yesterday with 30 points while Renato Aquino, Ronnie Sarigumba and Jose Mari Dizon chipped in 24 apiece. The 23 of Andrew Cañete did not count.

Retired General Rodante Joya, the non-playing captain of the team, said that Sarigumba, who led the team the other day with 33 points failed to deliver after injuring his elbow on the fourth hole.

Mactan’s team for the final day will be composed of Bart Vergara, Andot Mondares, Hubert Calan, Hiro Hasegawa, and Jufil Sato.

Alta Vista Golf and Country Club had its biggest day in the tournament so far yesterday shooting 100 points, but its total of 282 is still far away from contention.

Edsel Tan, the 19-year-old scholar of the Ateneo Golf Foundation, led Alta Vista yesterday with 30 points overcoming a slow start by shooting one-over-par on the back nine. Also counting for the team total were Dennis Canoy and Enrico Solon with 25 points apiece while skipper Victor Gocela, who lost his touch on the back nine was last to count with 20.

Emir Abutazil found the fairways quite difficult to handle and shot only 18 points, which did not count.

The same team will finish the tournament today for Alta Vista.

Championship

Canlubang retook the lead in the premiere category with a three-day total of 403 points on rounds of 137, 129 and 137.

The teams for this category played at the Bacolod Golf and Country Club yesterday. 

The Country Club, which seized the lead after the second round, is back to second with a total of 392 on rounds of 134, 134, and 124.

A far third is Alabang with 312 (107-110-95).

Sportswriters

Rancho Palos Verdes leads this third-ranked category with 303 points on rounds of 101, 91 and 111.

At second spot is Valley with 298 (92-100-106) followed by John Hay with 296 (97-99-100).

Club Flipino Incorporada de Cebu, the fourth Cebu team in the tournament has a total of 238 points playing again with only four men at NOGCC yesterday. The team had rounds of 93, 67, and 78.

Victor Yuvallos led the team yesterday with 26 points. The other players were Kento Nakada with 24, Shotaro Suda with 16 and Francis Jereza with 12.

Friendship

The top three teams in this lowest ranked group are Davao with 281 points on rounds of 92, 99 and 90 followed by Bacolod with 274 (90-95-89) and Fil-am Hawaii with 268 (103-78-81).

The event is presented by platinum sponsors Airbus, Boeing, 105.1 Crossover and Radio Mindanao Network.  Major sponsors are Action Asia, GE Aviation, MTV Philippines, People Asia and Royal Caribbean.

The corporate backers are Business Mirror, Philippine Graphic, www.philstar.com, Sabre Airline Solutions/Sabre Travel Network and Resort World Manila.  Century Park Hotel, DWWW 774 AM, Panay News, Master Card and Thales Aerospace are minor patrons.   (FREEMAN NEWS)