Palos Verdes hopes to keep momentum in Sta. Lucia tour

Rancho Palos Verdes of Davao hopes to sustain its big opening salvo when the course-hopping Sta. Lucia Tour resumes this week with the Visayas leg at the rolling Alta Vista Golf and Country Club in Pardo, Cebu.

After pulling ahead of the opposition by winning two of the three divisions in the Mindanao stop it hosted last month, the hot-starting Palos Verdes squad is out to foil the expected charge of the Alta Vista contingent.

Alta Vista is the defending overall champion of the Sta. Lucia Tour, a unique nationwide series featuring golf clubs flying the banner of real estate giant Sta. Lucia Realty Development Corp.

It is co-sponsored by Petron, Unirock, Readycon, Gainers Marketing, Kubota, Kodak, Titleist, Footjoy, Omega and Pagcor with Marco Polo (Davao), Marriot (Cebu) and Dusit Hotel Nikko (Manila) as partner hotels, Samsung and Yamaha Golf Cars as hole-in-one sponsors and Cebu Pacific as the official carrier.

As serious as the Alta Vista threat for Palos Verdes, however, is the renewed bid of back-to-back overall titlist Eagle Ridge, the only other club which went home with a team trophy from the Davao tiffs.

Orchard, Royale Tagaytay and Tour newcomer Caliraya Springs are also expected to do the same.

The six clubs are vying for the Sta. Lucia Cup which goes to the delegation with the best combined aggregate in all team divisions after the third and final leg to be co-hosted by Orchard and Eagle.

For each leg, teams will be eyeing the top plum in Groups I, II and III as well as individual awards in Class A, Class B, Class C and Class D, three of which was cornered by Alta Vista in the kickoff leg.

The Tour executive committeee headed by Vicente Santos and Engr. Winfred Gob as co-chair will head for Cebu early this week to supervise the event.

Thursday is reserved for the practice round with Friday and Saturday as competition days.

Participation in the Sta. Lucia Tour is partly subsidized by the realty firm where even companions are given substantial discounts on airfare and hotel accommodations.