"Our being chosen as the site is a recognition of our ability and skills to organize an international Rotary event of this magnitude," said Melito Salazar, chairman of Rotary Fellowship Foundation of the Phils., in yesterday’s PSA Forum at the Manila Pavilion.
Joining Salazar, a former Undersecretary of Trade and Industry, in the Forum sponsored by Agfa, Red Bull and Pagcor were Patrick Lee and Rene Magadia of Rotary Greenmeadows and Rotary Makati, respectively, which will co-host the tournament.
Magadia said that after three unsuccessful tries, the country finally won the nod to stage the International Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians and this was announced during the recent staging of the competition in Sun City, South Africa.
Salazar said that the choice of the Philippines is significant since it marks only the second time in the IFGR’s 44-year history than an Asian country will host the affair since Japan hosted the event in 1987. In fact, this is the first time that the event will be held in the Southeast Asian region.
He added no ordinary Rotarian can participate in the event unless they are also members of the IFGR, which now has over 1,000 members in 28 countries world wide.
Lee, on the other hand, said they are eyeing the Orchard, Southwoods, Country Club and Sta. Elena as possible sites for the four-day tournament with team and individual competitions in Classes A, B, C and women’s division.
"This will be a big boost to our international tourism since the International Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians was conceived in 1963 to promote international goodwill, friendship and understanding through the medium of golf," Salazar said.
Among the previous hosts of the IFGR have been the legendary Pinehurst Golf club in North Carolina, St. Andrews in Scotland and Estoril in Portugal. Next year, the golfest will be hosted by North Carolina again. Then it will be played in Brisbane and Turkey before it’s staged in the Philippines.