Garcia wins by skin of his teeth at Eagle Ridge

Tight battles marked the two major tournaments hosted recently by the sprawling Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Gen. Trias, Cavite, the members monthly medal tournament and the well-attended inaugural staging of the Chi-Rho Cup of the Miriam College.

Paolo Garcia successfully defended the Class A title in the monthly medal played at the challenging Andy Dye course, nipping brother Frederick Garcia by a mere stroke with his four-over-par gross of 76 and former winner Shinichi Ogihara by three.

It was Paolo’s third win in the last four months after yielding the April crown to Frederick.

Alexander Saldana, Virgilio Navarro and Rosendo Cruz also pulled off close victories in the other divisions of the tourney partly sponsored by Wilson through its general manager Jun Jun Plana.

Saldana won Class B honors by three over Alex Estabillo after an 86, Navarro escaped with a one-stroke win over Ryan Amistad and Cruz’s 110 got him four strokes up on Reynaldo Villafuerte.

Jose Nepomuceno, meanwhile, topped Class A with an even-par gross of 72 and four-under 68 net to lead winners in the Chi-Rho Cup, an event jointly staged by the Miriam College Chi-Rho Champions and Maryknoll/Mirima College Alumni Association (MMCAA) for the Miriam College Endowment Fund.

Countbacks decided the two other divisions with Buddy Gob grabbing the Class B crown and Lope Torres earning the Class C title. Gob tallied a 72 then nipped Chito Clavano and Jerry Martinez in the tiebreak while Torres beat Mike Limjap in another countback that decided the Class C winner after both finished with similar 75s.

The ladies division winners were Grace Atienza, Margarita Holigores and Marfina Teodoro.