Mizuno extends lead, still wary of Sparta

BAGUIO, Philippines - – Mizuno put in a solid 131 at Camp John Hay and doubled its seven-point lead over Team Sparta to all but wrap up the Fil Championship crown with one round left in the 64th San Miguel Fil Am Men’s Invitational golf tournament here yesterday.

King Stehmeier, Raymund Sangil and Justin Limjap all fired identical 34 Molave points as the Mizuno Superstars played to their true potential at the up-and-down layout although Ace Stehmeier struggled a bit with a 29.

With a 131-point binge, Mizuno pulled away with a 373 aggregate, counting the 242 it pooled at Baguio Country Club, for a 14-point lead over Team Sparta, which settled for a 124 and a 359.

Despite the big lead, however, the Superstars remain wary of their rivals.

“We have to play our usual games. We cannot be too complacent. We would play the CJH course as if we are trailing,” said Mizuno skipper King Stehmeier.

Manila Southwoods moved up to third at 338 after a 120 as last year’s champion Forest Hills floundered with a paltry 106 for a 331.

Tonton Asistio shot 33 points to lead Team Sparta which also drew a pair of 31s from Erwin Temena and Rading Decepida and a 29 from Thirdy Escaño.

“We are happy to be where we are now. But if the chance to win comes up, we’ll be extremely delighted with it,” said Team Sparta captain Allan Pasion.

Manfred Guangko shot 33 points, Joseph Tambunting hit a 31 and Ferdie Agustin and Junjun Plana added 29 and 27, respectively, for the Carmona-based Southwoods squad.

After trailing Mizuno by just one at BCC, Forest Hills tumbled down to fourth as Gabriel Atienza scored a 29, Edgar Lee and Ronald Littaua each carded a 27 and Raffy Garcia groped for 23.

In other results, Team Surigao II assembled a 104 at John Hay and finished with a 404 to beat Ultra Flite Golf Club I by eight points and claim the Fil-B crown. Martin Guiang fired 29 points and Ace Barbers, Ed Lopez and Bing Alcantara added 26, 25 and 24 points, respectively, for the Surigao squad.

Ultra Flite, led by Roger Crespo and Rey Talatala’s identical 27 points, failed to sustain its third round output of 107 and slowed down with a 103 for a 396 for second while Batman, with Bernard Chang shooting a 29, finished third with a 394 after a 102.

Team Baguio ended up fourth with a 103-386 followed by Haciendas De Naga (85-365), Sultan Kudarat (99-345), Watercraft Venture (93-336) and Bulakeños (81-333) in that order.

Fil-Am Seattle also ran away with the Fil-E crown with a 333 total after an 88 for a whopping 36-point romp over Calamba Boys Golf Team, which had an 81 for a 297. Eton Golf placed third with a 292 after an 80.

In Fil-D, Fil Am Japan II pooled a 103 for a 285 as it raced away by 21 points from San Miguel Corp., which had a 264 after a 94 while Square and Compass Golf of Nueva Ecija shot a 90 for a 260.

Lito Fuentes scored 30 points, Ron Nichols had a 25 while Ferdie Rivera and Noel Sebastian each had 24 for Fil Am Japan II.

SMC drew 33 points from Mikey Punzalan but Joey Castro, Sammy Diciano and Rolly Valdez groped with 22, 20 and 19, points, respectively, enabling Fil Am Japan to pull away.