Junior golfers take spotlight in JRo Cup

MANILA, Philippines — The second JRo Cup fires off today at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club with a novel format pitting 40 of the country’s top and upcoming jungolfers from various ranks in a Ryder Cup-style tournament.

Jennifer Rosales will hit the ceremonial drive at 8 a.m. along with other guests, including former President and long-time Rosales backer Fidel V. Ramos, and other supporters of the 18-hole tournament the two-time LPGA champion is putting up to give back to the sport and help inspire the youth and develop their talent and skills.

“My goal here is for all the participants to have fun and enjoy the game. I want the Class C and D girls and boys players to learn from those ranked in Classes A and B, that’s why I paired them against each other,” said Rosales, who won the Philippine Ladies Amateur Open crown five times in row from 1994. She also became the first Filipina to win on the LPGA Tour in 2004 in Georgia and nailed her second crown in Hawaii the following year.

Rosales is expected to impart her “3 D’s” (discipline, determination and dedication) among the participants from whose bunch she hopes would come the next “JRo.”

“When I started playing golf, my dad would always tell me the 3 D’s, which inspired and motivated me and got to where I am now. Even when I struggled, I kept fighting and finally made a breakthrough and won my first LPGA in 2004. I just never gave up and just worked really hard.”