Philippine Masters back in golfing scene, pro-am up

The local golf scene comes alive as the 14th Philippine Masters Invitational championship fires off today with the 18-hole pro-am appetizer sponsored by Mitsubishi Motors at the Villamor Golf Club.

Former champions Rodrigo Cuello, Robert Pactolerin and Olle Nordberg of Sweden lead the exclusive roster of 40 players who will be paired with 120 specially-invited amateurs in the 18-hole event.

They will be competing for cash and other prizes worth at least P200,000, P20,000 of which goes to the pro of the winning team and P15,000 to the top individual scorer.

Also up for grabs today is a brand new Mitsubishi Lancer MX automatic worth more than half a million pesos and goes to the player who scores an ace on a designated hole.

Hitting the ceremonial balls at 8 a.m. are Pasay Mayor Peewee Trinidad; Makato Maeda, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors; Freddie Masigan, secretary-general of NGAP; Games and Amusements Board chair Doming Cepeda; NTC Commissioner Joseph Santiago; San Miguel SVP Bert Manlapit and Lt. Gen. Willie Florendo.

Tomorrow, the Masters proper which has drawn the support of San Miguel Pale Pilsen, San Miguel Light and Viva Mineral Water as television presentors fires off with the international field of 120 battling prizes totalling P3 million.

A whopping half million peso paycheck will be disputed by players from 10 countries led by veteran campaigners of the Asian Tour.