Juvic’s SEAG feat

It has reached a certain stage where he seriously considered ending his multi-titled amateur golfing career. And despite the fact that more medals were surely in store for himself and the country — given his caliber as an international player — it no longer seemed to matter.

He was simply tired and ready to move on.

But the entry of a low profile patron and godfather of Philippine golf changed Juvic Pagunsan’s plans, including spearheading the country’s bid in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games.

An avid sportsman himself, the patron truly understands the needs of an athlete and has the means and the resources to give them.

And give the patron did.

As it turned out, Pagunsan literally carried the national golf team to the gold finish in the SEAG.

And as destiny would have it, his performance peaked to a level that has perhaps never been seen in the history of Philippine golf.

The Philippines won the gold medal in the team event by a margin of 17 strokes and Juvic captured the individual crown by 14 shots.

What an amazing feat.

As I spoke to him moments after the victory about his last two rounds wherein he shot 64 and 65, respectively, he sounded very confident, thinking of making "birdies" in each round.

It was the kind of inspired performance every athlete could dream of, particularly in a major tournament like the SEA Games. And it was even made sweeter because of the pressure of playing on home ground and before a home crowd.

He thanked those who were instrumental in giving him the opportunity to achieve a level most of us could only long for. Luigi Yulo of the Canlubang Golf Club and Bambi Rivilla are those he particularly mentioned who plucked him out of the caddy ranks around eight years ago and gave him the break.

Could this situation be an indication of the results our national players are capable of achieving when they feel they are supported, encouraged and trained in a positive way?

Nobody could really say. But in my opinion, the formula that was used could well be worth exploring.

Juvic will be playing with his Canlubang teammates this week at the Fil-Am tournament in Baguio and will represent the Philippines in the Putra Cup in Myanmar the week after. It will be his last tournament as an amateur.

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It was a such pleasant site to witness the participation of several Fil-Am athletes throughout the SEA Games. Not only because it helped boost the country’s bid but more so because these athletes actually looked like full blooded Filipinos. And they were.

I have always felt that Filipinos should be allowed to compete for the country even if they have a piece of paper that claims they no longer hold Filipino citizenship. It is easy to produce spurious documents to claim citizenship so I feel to be born Filipino is enough to qualify one to don the national colors.