Gio Gandionco tops international jungolfest

CEBU, Philippines - Cebuano Gio Gandionco bagged the class A title in the 11th Philippine International Junior Golf Championships played last January 4 to 7 at the Greenfields Golf and Country Club in Calamba, Laguna.

Word about the victory of the 15-year-old Cebuano was relayed to The Freeman by his father Joseph.

Class A is for players aged 15 to 17 years old. Gandionco defeated a Singaporean player in the sudden-death playoff as they were tied for first place after the final round.

In his email, Joseph said that Gio took the lead after the first round in this tournament, which is the only international junior golf event in the country, by shooting even-par-72 strokes and was tied with a bet from Taiwan.

In the second round, Gio dropped to fourth after shooting 80 strokes in the treacherous layout that was made even trickier by the strong winds.

On the last day, he shot 76 strokes and was tied for the top spot, thus the playoff.

The win comes after Gio's successful participation in the 94th Philippine Open last December 15 to 18, 2010 at the Valley Golf and Country Club.

Gandionco was among the "best and the brightest" invited by Tommy Manotoc, president of the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) to play with the pros.

Shooting rounds of 77 and 73, Gandionco, who studies at Paref-Springdale, made the cut and then closed with rounds of 72 and 73 to finish tied for 37th place against the entire field that only had 14 amateurs including five junior golfers.—NLQ (FREEMAN)