All-out war looms in 66th Fil-Am Invitational

BAGUIO, Philippines – The 66th Fil-Am Invitational golf tournament gets going Saturday with fierce battle seen in all divisions in both the Fil Seniors and Fil Championship with more than 2,000 players seeing action at the Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay course here.

Forty-one teams composed of 221 players have signed up for the seniors play while 227 squads involving 962 players are set to vie in the Fil-Am side of the annual event presented by Toyota, according to BCC recreations manager Roanne Galicia.

“We have single handicapped players and a single handicapped team bracketed in B division when they used to be in the championship flight,” said Fil-Am vice chairman Tim Allen during classification of players and teams for the tournament which ends on Dec. 5.

Two Toyota Vios cars will be offered as hole-in-one prizes on Nos. 10 and 18 of BCC and John Hay, respectively.

He added that the return of Luisita and other golf clubs makes the title chase doubly interesting.

Manila Southwoods, which ran away with a 17-point romp over Ventureslink-AAV Builders, is eyeing a ninth championship in the centerpiece event played under the modified PAL Stableford scoring format.

The Carmona-based squad will be led again by top gunner Justine Quiban, who nipped many-time national junior titlist Rupert Zaragosa of Ventureslink to snare the individual crown last year.

Luisita was a regular fixture of the Fil-Am until the 1994 season when most of the clubs left to put a rival tournament.

San Miguel, the event’s title presentor, is also coming in with a stronger team as it tries to improve on its third place finish last year.

The Fil-Am seniors will be held until Nov. 26 while the regular Fil-Am will be played Nov. 30-Dec. 5.

Other backers of the event are Petron, Magnolia, SMC Global Power, Manor at Camp John Hay, Forest Lodge, Empire, RFID, GPS Tracker, Megafiber, Team Eagle, CJH Development Corporation, Rizgolf, Megafiber, Le Chef, Farmers Coffee and the CJH Trade and Cultural Center.