Fernandez-Sison pair rules Bill Shaw Classic

MANILA, Philippines — Paulino Fernandez and Gene Sison mounted a huge second-round rally, holing in a couple of clutch birdies and a run of pars in the last few holes to complete a come-from-behind victory in the 31st Bill Shaw Golf Classic at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club recently.

After scoring 44 points in best ball format at the East course and needing at least an 89 in aggregate at the West to win outright, Fernandez and Sison came through with an 88 that tied them with former Comelec chairman Ben Abalos Sr. and partner Zaldy Carpeso at 132 total apiece.

Upon the application of the tiebreak, Fernandez and Sison were awarded the overall championship crown by virtue of a lower team handicap in the highly anticipated invitational event that drew 800 participants.

Still, Abalos and Carpeso won the title in the Seniors 1 division of the two-day tournament presented by San Miguel Corp., Shell and Yakult with support from Chronos and D&L (platinum sponsors) and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (diamond sponsor).

Not to be outdone was the tandem of Oliver Gan and junior standout Rianne Malixi, the 12-year-old who won the Match Play Championships in January. They assembled 157 (West) and 151 (East) for a 308 total to grab this year’s trophy for the overall team gross category.

Other winners, who were awarded by the Wack Wack Board led by its president Lawrence Tan, were Brainard and Edmund Hao (Group 1), Lutgardo and John Frederick Cruz (Group 2), Wilson Ng and Edgar Allan Pasion (Group 3) and Reuben Lista and Gaudencio Morales (Seniors 2).

Meanwhile, Jose Roman Ozeata brought home a Lexus UX200 F-Sport for his hole-in-one at East’s No. 8. He used a Tour B JGR Hybrid 4 and Taylor Made #77 ball. His flightmates were Peter Tan, Leroy Ang and Edward Ang.

Aside from the beautiful trophies, the Bill Shaw Classic gave away fabulous raffle prizes including a Toyota Vios that went to Don Lee, a Mitsubishi Mirage G4 to Romulo Santos and a sporty BMW C-400 Motorcyle to Wilson Tecson.

Meralco, RGB, Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo, Stradcom, Cebu Pacific, China Airlines, First Sunday Group, DDT Konstrakt, ICTSI-PGTI, Asia Traders Corp., Peerless Products, Resorts World Manila, EVA Air, Moven Pick, GG&A Clubchares, VMJ, Boysen and 3D Northern Islands were backers.