Apo, WW caddies share early lead

Apo Golf and Country Club’s Ranel Glimada and Toti Olandes of Wack Wack sizzled with 68s yesterday to share the early men’s individual lead in 14th Uratex National Caddies Championship.

But they had to share the spotlight with Cebu Green Island’s Roderick Borja, who scored a hole-in- one to emerge the first big winner in the tournament Robert Cheng launched in 1988.

Glimada tamed the par 70, 5,396-yard Valley Golf and Country Club’s Executive course with an eagle and three birdies against three bogeys to also power Apo into the early team event lead.

Olandes, a member of Wack Wack squad that won the 13th team title at Capitol Hills two years ago, scored four birdies and two bogeys as he also steered his team to second place.

Elmer Saban supported Glimada with a 70 and Tony Depelo added 73 to power their team to the top with 211. Jojo Saban scored 88 but only the best three scores count each day.

Aside from Olandes, Wack Wack’s scorers were Ruben de la Rosa with a 73 and Joey Gabay 77 for 218, seven shots behind the Davao campaigners. Federico Dimacali made an 86 and didn’t count.

First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo hit the first ceremonial drive to officially kicked off the event Cheng bankrolled 15 years ago at the Capitol Hills Golf and Country Club.

Other guests who did the honors were Sen. Tito Sotto, Bataan Gov. Ding Roman, Frank Manalo, Mike Liamson, Valley president Bobot Marquez and organizing committee co-chairman Col. Abe Villanueva.

Arroyo later elicited a rousing applause when he announced that he is giving additional allowance of P500 each to all the 238 participants from a record 63 teams.

Borja could only score a struggling 14 over par 84 but he wound up with a total of P55,500 winnings in gift certificates for shooting a hole-in-one on the par three, 155-yard sixth.

He made his first ace in 16 years of playing and toting bags with a Lynx seven iron and a Maxfli ball while playing with Daniel Solinap of Iloilo, Cattle Creek’s Ryan Mauricio and Hermie Asparo of Peninsula.

In nailing only the second ace in the history of the tournament (the first was in 1989), Borja won P50,000 in gift certificates from Yakult’s Victory Dy Sun and an additional P5,000 from Valley.