Gao and company top Waterfront-Alta Vista Fellowship Cup

CEBU, Philippines – Junior golf standout Weiwei Gao and his teammates, who are seasoned golfers, bagged the top honors in last Saturday’s Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino-Alta Vista Golf and Country Club Fellowship Cup played at the short but tough AVGCC course in Pardo, Cebu City.

The tournament was a four-man team scramble event, which drew a record field of entries for a monthly event of the club.

Gao’s teammates were Razi Razon, Rolando Alberto, and Lino Dagus and they combined efforts for a whopping 15-under-par 57 strokes to rule Division 1.

The format calls for all four team members to hit a tee shot and then select the best ball.  The player, whose ball is picked, hits it as it lies while the three others would place their ball within one club-length from the chosen ball and then hit it.  The process is repeated until the team can hole out.

To make the tournament more interesting, the teams were asked to designate their A, B, C, and D player prior to the start of the round and each player must make a minimum number of required tee shots based on their designation.

The A player needs five, B four, C three, and D two.

Gao and company were four under-par after six holes nailing birdies on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th holes then eagled the par-5 7th to go six-under-par.  After a regulation par on the par-3 8th where a Nissan Sylphy was at stake for a hole-in-one, the team nailed another eagle on the par-5 9th to go eight-under-par 27 at the bend.

On the back nine, the group continued their rampage with three straight birdies on the 10th to the 12th and one more on the 14th before making three straight again on the 16th to the 18th.

Second place in Division 1 went to the team of Alex Yeo, Jun Mendoza, Tony Amor and Romeo Aguilon with 61 strokes off nines of 27 and 34.  The team birdied all but hole number 5 on the front nine, but slowed down on the back nine having to complete their round late afternoon.

Third place for the premiere category went to the team of Gabriel Yap, Jr., Toby Florendo, and brothers Wilky and Michael Lim with 62 strokes beating the group of Jude Demiar, Anthony Bejar, Brucedy Chan and junior golfer Junia Gabasa in the countback.

In Division 2, the team led by Vince Colina took home the title with a score of 13-under-par 59 strokes.

Colina’s teammates were Henry Casuga, Eric Deen and Mario Parungao.  They fired nines of 28 and 31 strokes.

The tournament format allowed teams to have a minimum of two members of the club.

Second place went to the team of Jun Zambo,  Alan Larot, James Tan, and Archie Villa with 61 strokes while third place went to Alvin Suarez, Henry Chu, Pete del Rosario, and Ed Sy with 63.

The team led by Suarez won third place honors via the countback over the teams of Edwin Go Lim, Mark Warren Go, Lawrence Chian, and Glenn Sebastian and that of  Kim Taehwan, Joseph Shin, Won Jong Woo, and Nilo Reyes.

Special awards went to Teddy Boy Almario for nearest to the pin on the 6th where he missed an ace by three inches and to Joseph Dy, whose tee shot landed on the center line for the most accurate drive on the 11th. (PR from www.fullpointcebu.com) (FREEMAN)