Golden Oats leads by six over John Hay

BAGUIO – Defending champion Golden Oats pooled 127 points to zero in on a grand slam in the centerpiece Fil Championship Division of the 59th Fil-Am Golf Invitational with a six-point lead over Camp John Hay here yesterday.

Iggy Clavecilla scored 34 points for the defending champion, which now has a two-day total of 248 points, six ahead of Camp John Hay, which assembled 123 at the John Hay Golf Club for a 242 aggregate.

Team captain Florene de los Santos contributed 32, Francis Gaston submitted 31 and first day top scorer Bong Sison added 30 to keep Golden Oats on top heading to the last two rounds at the par-61 Baguio Country Club course.

“Six points is nothing. Anything can happen at BCC. We’re just happy to carry the lead going there,” said Clavecilla, winner of the Sabah Amateur Seniors Open recently.

“We will continue to work as a unit because that is important at BCC. It’s a little tricky especially with its narrow, tree-lined fairways and we have to help each other out how to attack the greens,” Golden Oats team manager Freddie Mendoza said.

Clyde Cabreros led John Hay’s charge with 33 points, three over par 72 in regulation, while fellow retired general Nelson Eslao had 32 points. Fred Puckett had 30 points and Jung Won Park made 28 for the team’s 123 output.

The Country Club struggled with 105 points and fell to third spot with 224 in a tie with Nueva Ecija, which scored 113.

Meanwhile, defending champion Camp John Hay Golf Club built a 32-point lead in the Am side as Federico Mandapat Jr. shot 31 points at the BCC for a 108 and 36-hole total of 220.