Weiwei Gao tops Alta Vista’s January tourney

CEBU, Philippines - At 14 years old, Weiwei Gao was one of the youngest participants of the January monthly medal of Alta Vista Golf and Country Club last Saturday, but during the awards ceremony in the evening, he stood the tallest after ruling the tournament by shooting the lowest gross score.

Gao fired two-under-par 70 strokes to bag the lowest gross honors for the premiere handicap category of the tournament, which also served as the qualifying tournament for the annual club championships.

The lowest net honors for class A went to Wendell Yap with 65 strokes off a gross 73.  Richard Lim took the runner-up honors with a net score of 68 edging Charlie Gaite in the countback.

The lowest gross honors for class B went to Ari Lee with 84 strokes.  Wilky Lim had the lowest net shooting one-under-par 71 off a gross 86 while runner-up honors went to Jason Yu with 72 strokes.

Lawrence Chian fired the lowest gross for class C with 94 strokes.  The lowest net plum went to Nimrod Quiñones with 71 strokes while runner-up honors went to Edgar Sasuman with 73.

Club treasurer Ramon Sebastian once again ruled the seniors’ (55-69 years old) division with a gross score of 79 strokes.  The lowest net honors went to Ellie Espinoza with 66 while Masahisa Kawakami took the runner-up trophy with 68.

Pampio Abarintos topped the super seniors (70 years old and above) class with his gross score of 84 strokes. Firing the lowest net was Ed Sanchez with 69 strokes.

In the ladies division, Ericka Lim scored 78 strokes to win the lowest gross honors while Marina Kaufmann won the lowest net award with 60 strokes off a gross score of 80.

The guest division winners were Badz del Prado for the lowest gross and Manny Castro for the lowest net.

Taking the special awards were Alex Chiongbian for nearest the pin on No. 6 and Benjie Hortelano for the most accurate drive on the 11th.

Tournament of aces

Gao also led the qualifiers for class A with his 70 strokes.  Taking second was Wendell Yap with 73.  The rest of the eight qualifiers for the matchplay stage of the event in class A are Kim Kwang Seok, Aris Mata, Anton Pastoriza, Jun Zambo, Richard Lim, and Charlie Gaite.

Lee led the class B qualifiers.  He will be joined in the quarterfinals by Wilky Lim, Marlo Cugtas, Nelson Rosales, Alan Larot, Edwin Ho Lim, Toshiyuki Haga, and Nestor Mendoza.

Chian is the leading contender for the class C title.  Other qualifiers are Willy Go, Edgar Sasuman, Nimrod Quiñones, Jephte Romea, Mark Tan, Doli Cabahug, and Alex Chiongbian.

The top eight for the seniors’ division are Ramon Sebastian, Masahisa Kawakami, Razi Razon, Vicente Go, Jun Mendoza, Ellie Espinoza, Boy Gonzalez, and Jun Zosa.

For the super seniors division, there are only six who are advancing to the next stage.  They are Poy Abarintos, David Villono, Rolly Santos, Tony Sikimhua, Ed Sanchez, and Romy Hipolito.

Ericka Lim leads the cast for the ladies.  She will be joined by Choi Yi Hwa, Marina Kaufmann, Joan Hortelano, Annika Yeo, Emma Bayer, Marile Parsons, and Gina Yap.

Only the winners of the tournaments held in 2013 are qualified to vie for the eight slots in the different divisions for the Tournament of Aces.

In the quarterfinals, No, 1 battles No. 8, No. 2 against No. 7, No. 34 against No. 6, and No. 4 faces No. 5.

In the super seniors class, the top two are seeded into the semifinals, but No. 3 faces No. 6, and No. 4 meets No. 5 in the quarterfinals.

The matchplay stage will start on February 1. (from www.fullpointcebu.com)