Expats steal show in Sta. Elena Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Expatriates took the limelight in the 17th Sta. Elena Cup member-guest tournament as Japanese partners Makoto Kinoshita and Koji Yasuma took the overall net and the pair of Tommy Sliman-Bob Horan topped Class A at the Sta. Elena Golf Club in Cabuyao, Laguna over the weekend.

Kinoshita struggling with 35 and 32 on a handicap of 9, got a big lift from 11-handicapper Yasuma, who tamed the difficult playing conditions with his 43-43  for a 153 aggregate that crowned them the new champions in the five-day event presented by Omega and Lexus in cooperation with Sta. Elena Properties, L’Oreal, Avalon Waterways and Baron Travel.

It was the guest rising to the occasion as well for the Class A winning tandem as Horan, carrying a handicap 13, made 42 and 38 to back up Sliman, who did 33 and 35, for a team total of 148, one ahead of Vince Tanjutco and Monchit Mackay.

The Sta. Elena Cup also had Canon, Mizuno and MDI as sponsors, while Club Car and Kart Plaza - Yamaha added carts to the Lexus CT 200h Hybrid and Lexus RX 350 SUV offered as hole-in-one prizes.

The overall gross went to Ivan Ferreras and Niko Santiano with a 124, Class B went to Jimmy Bautista and Rudy with a 151.and Lester Codog and Edward Francisco claimed the Class C trophy with a 149.

Individual awards went to Yasuma for the overall net with his 86 and John Kier Abdon for the overall gross with a pair of 35s for 70. Top scorers per round were Abe Rosal, Jingy Tuason and Abdon for gross and Faller, Francisco and Cornejo for net.

Adding spice to the event was the participation of 10-year-old Andre Yuchengco who played with his father Tito and Asian Tour regulars Juvic Pagunsan and Guido Van der Valk and the return to active competition of Iggy Clavecilla months after suffering a near fatal stroke in Seoul, Korea.

Lucky players went home with premium watches from Omega, an Avalon River Cruise from Baron Travel worth US$ 10,000, equipment from Mizuno and cameras from Canon that were raffled off.

Notable partnerships were Sta. Elena president Bryan Cockrell and his brother Harry Cockrell, defending champions Rene Roy and Richard Dagelet, TV/movie personality Vic Sotto and daughter Paulina Sotto, while the Quiros brothers Bebo, Jorge, Jabing and Ito also joined with their respective partners.