Davao leg kicks off Sta. Lucia Tour

MANILA, Philippines - The 15th season of the Sta. Lucia Golf Tour, the annual showdown of members from nine exclusive golf clubs flying the banner of the real estate giant, is set to fire off this week at the hazard-laden Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club course in Davao.

More than a hundred players are set to answer the two shotgun starts in the morning and afternoon Sept. 5-6 for the official start of a course-hopping nationwide series organized by Sta. Lucia Realty and Development, Inc. and will also bring them to three other championship courses in the Visayas and Luzon in the next two months.

Participants from Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Gen. Trias, Cavite and Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club in Davao, clubs which owns a bounty of overall championships in the first 14 editions of the Sta. Lucia Tour, are once again expected to flex their might against smaller lineups from the other clubs.

“We have always seen the Sta. Lucia Tour from the perspective of forging new relations and enhancing the old. This ensures the longevity of this event and we’re glad that our beloved members have continued to patronize it,” said Sta. Lucia Tour executive committee chair Vicente Santos.

Royale Tagaytay is also sending a big delegation in what is seen to be a big push for the overall plum in the 36-hole competition that is a two-man team event playing the aggregate Molave scoring system on the first day and the best-ball on the second day. The other clubs in the field are Royale Tagaytay, Orchard, Lakewood, Summit Point, Lake Caliraya Springs, Alta Vista and Beverly Place.

Aside from playing for their home clubs, the participants will also chase attractive prizes put up by the other sponsors CEMEX, Steel Asia, Pag-Asa Steel,  Philippine Airlines, Titleist, Foot Joy, Empire Golf and Sports Shop, PacSports, Pocari Sweat, Dynamic Sports and Leisure Corp., Mizuno/Master Sports Corp Marco Polo Davao with Inquirer Golf and golfph.com as media partners.

From Davao, the series goes to Cebu for the second leg at Alta Vista on Sept. 25-28 then winds up at the Summit Point in Lipa, Batangas and Eagle Ridge 

Eagle Ridge copped the overall titles in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2012 and 2013 while Palos Verdes triumphed in 2004 and 2007.