MANILA, Philippines - Tagaytay Highlands ousted defending champion Riviera with a vengeful 5.5-4.5 victory recently to arrange a semifinal home-and-away showdown with Eastridge in the 2009 men’s Federation Golf League.
The Highlanders posted a 3-2 win at home then banked on a crucial long putt by Iggy Clavecilla and a big win by the tandem of Joey Solis-Larry Patnongon in high-low to secure a decisive draw in the away match at Riviera.
Tagaytay thus made it back to the semifinals after losing to the same Riviera team last year and will take a shot at its first-ever finals stint opposite Eastridge, one of the two automatic semifinalists, this weekend.
Wack Wack will take on eliminations topnotcher and playoffs No. 1 seed Sta. Elena in the other semifinal encounter.
The winning teams this weekend will clash for the championship on Oct. 3-4.
Wack Wack routed Canlubang at home to streak to a 6.5-3.5 victory and bolster its hopes of winning back the crown it captured in 2000.
The Tagaytay-Riviera duel went down the wire and was decided only after Clavecilla, playing with Johann See, holed a 30-foot putt on the last hole to salvage a draw in scramble and the Solis-Larry Patnongon clinching the high-low match also on the 18th.
Wack Wack took their duel with Canlubang to their home turf after forcing a draw in their first meeting and found the right combinations for an easy win.
Gab Gab Villareal-Garry Uy won in greensomes, John Gobing-Takanobu Taira prevailed in best-ball, Cosco Oben-Hubert Lim triumphed in scramble and EJ Marcelo-Tootsie de Jesus took the high-low point all in abbreviated fashion. Only the aggregate pair of Kunishi Fumiyo and Jasper Go lost for Wack Wack.