Indons sweep Asean Seniors

Gen. Trias, Cavite — Sofyan Fag uncorked a birdie-par-par finish to give Indonesia a sweep of the individual and team gross titles even as the Philippines secured the team net crown in runaway fashion at the close of the 23rd Asean Seniors Amateur Golf Championship yesterday at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club here.

Sofyan battled compatriot Hendra Jaya and local bet Bing Bunye in a torrid shootout all day but outscored them down stretch to crown himself the individual champion of this 54-hole tourney that featured 256 from six countries.

He closed out with a 78 at the Faldo course of the country’s biggest golf club for 231, two shots ahead of Jaya, the second round leader who limped home with an 82 for 233. Bunye was in the hunt until a sputtering finish led him to a 79 and third place at 236.

Sofyan and Jaya joined hands to power Indonesia to a nine-stroke victory over Thailand in team play with a 703 total.

Art Ampaya, Danny Pizarro, Ben Liclican and Pedro Lopez strode home to a 26-shot win in team net stroke play for the hosts who also picked up two first place trophies in the Stableford age-bracket competitions through Jack Perez and Romulo Garcia.

Ampaya and his teammates totaled 622 to deny Indonesia a sweep of the team titles. The Indons placed second at 648.

As most of the foreign entries hailed the hassle-free organization of the tourney which was played in three courses for the first time in history, Federation of Philippine Senior Amateur Golfers, Inc. president Philip Judan said they couldn’t have done it without the full cooperation of his board as well as member chapters.

The net individual title went to Pracha Charoenjit of Thailand who posted 202 to beat Koh Chap and Tidarta of Indonesia by two strokes. Pizarro was the best RP finisher at seventh six strokes behind.

Perez collected 83 points to lead a 1-2-3 Philippine finish in Group B (60-64 years) while Garcia made 81 to win Group D (70-74) by five. The other winners were William Yong Vai Leng of Malaysia in Group A (55-59), Somphob Intaraprasong of Thailand in Group C (65-59) and Paul Chin Kon Lim of Malaysia in Group E (75 above).

Among the major backers of the Asean Seniors are the Department of Transportation and Communication, the Department of Tourism, Pioneer Insurance, Megaworld Corp, Malayan Towage & Salvage Corp., Asia United Bank, SBA Printers, Inc., Ultra PI Wellness Solutions Company, Marin Sports Club, Manila Southwoods, Sen. Manny Villar, Pagcor, Bellevue, HSBC, Fairbright Enterprises and Unilever.