Davaoenos mix it up for berths in Samsung Am finals

DAVAO — A merry mix of top amateurs, club champions and local officials fight it out for slots to the national finals and a bonanza of appliances in the second stop of the Samsung Amateur Golf Tour and Putting Challenge at the well-maintained Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club course here.

Though the real battle is in the championship division where Manila-based Jay Bayron is facing a band of homegrown low-handicappers, the two-day competitions in various handicap levels both for men and women are also expected to be closely fought.

Homegrown aces Tibor Marcelino, Anthony Sasin and Anton Ferazinni are the most likely threats to the bids of Bayron and Bernis in this leg marking the start of eight out-of-town sorties intended to give as many golfers in the country the chance to vie for tickets to the finals.

Jerome Delariarte, who had won the last two Philippine amateur championships, is already among the initial batch of qualifiers after he had joined the winners of the kick-off leg at Forest Hills in Antipolo last month.

The event is co-sponsored by Mario’s Restaurant, Wilson, Gatorade, Tokyo Tokyo, Microtel, Custom Clubmakers and Dunlop Golf with radio stations Killer Bee, Citylite 88.3, Wave 89.1, 99.5 RT and 103.5 K-Lite as official media partners.

Entries will be battling for the top three slots in Class A, Class B, Class C in the men’s division and Class A and Class B in the women’s division.

As an added attraction, players will also be pitting skills in the Putting Challenge for two days at Palos Verdes, a joint venture project of Sta. Lucia Realty and the Dizon family.

Winners in the Amateur Tour will go home with a television set, the runners-up a DVD and the third-placers a microwave open. Putting winners will also receive appliances from Samsung.

Organized by the Professional Sports Management Group headed by Boy Blue Ocampo, the Samsung nationwide circuit is a tournament where not just scratch players get the chance to compete but golfers in all skill levels for both sexes.

Interested parties may call the PSMG office at 635-0010 or 631-5768 or sign up at the host club. All participants are required to submit a certified handicap from their golf club using the USGA handicapping system (IPI or NGAP).