No Phl golf team to Myanmar SEA Games

MANILA, Philippines - Due to the absence of a competitive team, the Philippines has decided to pull out of the golf competitions in the 27th Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar in December.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco broke the news yesterday, saddened by the fact that the country’s top female golfers had turned professional.

In the men’s side, two of the top players have cited their studies as the main reason they can’t join the Philippine team to the SEA Games.

“What I know is that we don’t have a golf team to the SEA Games. Most of our lady golfers turned professional,” said Cojuangco, who turned 79 yesterday.

The POC chief said the decision to pull out of  the SEA Games was made by the National Golf Association of the Philippines under Tommy Manotoc.

Filipina golfers who turned pro this year are Dottie Ardina, Jayvee Agojo, Cyna Rodriguez and Chihiro Ikeda, leaving only Princess Superal of the ICTSI golf program as the only available player.

The men’s team of Rupert Zaragoza, Jonathan delos Reyes, Rico Hoey and Jobim Carlos recently won the Putra Cup title, ending the country’s 17-year drought in the toughest Southeast Asian team event.

But the same team cannot be made available for the SEA Games since a couple of them are studying in the United States.

“It’s their decision. They feel they cannot be competitive so why send a team. They made a stand. We won (Putra Cup) but the same players are no longer available,” said Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia.

Cojuangco is appealing to the Games and Amusements Board, which grants licenses to athletes turning pro, to be stricter in issuing licenses.

“We spend for these athletes as they try to hone their skills but even before they are (fully) able to return the favor and assistance they received for a number of years they turn professional,” said Cojuangco.

Cojuangco said there should be an agreement between the athletes and the sports agencies that they can only turn pro after serving the national team for a specific period of time.

Ardina and the others who turned pro have already served the country in various international competitions but the country’s top sports officials want more from them.

“We support the athletes financially and expose them to international competitions only to find out they have turned pro and can no longer be used for events like the SEA Games,” Garcia said.

Golf is a perennial source of medals for the Philippines in the SEA Games with two golds and two silvers in 2005, two golds and one bronze in 2009 and a bronze in 2011 courtesy of Ardina.