Southwoods, Rancho Palos rule PAL Ladies golf

DAVAO -- Manila Southwoods-Masters easily brushed aside the brave challenge put up by Del Monte to romp away with the championship division title in the final round of the revived sixth Philippine Airlines (PAL) Ladies Interclub held at the Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club Friday.

Regine de Guzman made sure there won't be any slip-up, firing four birdies including back-to-back hits on Nos. 10 and 11 for a two-under-par 70, worth 56 PAL points for Southwoods-Masters which wound up with a 624. The Sunshine Baraquiel and bubbly Beachie Abiera provided good support with 51 and 49, respectively.

De Guzman also collared the individual crown in Flight A, narrowly edging out Anya Tanpinco, 113-112.

"Everyone's excited with the win. We're proud to be the champs in the PAL Ladies Interclub after a 23-year absence," said Beachie Abiera, captain of Southwoods-Masters.

Although the outcome has been known after the third round, Del Monte still tried to put on a pretty end to its campaign. Eva Minoza had an impressive 55 to lead way for the Bukidnon-based squad. Pam Mariano's 47 and Apple Fudolin's 45 were added in the four-to-play, three-to-count for 147 and a 570 total.

Rainstar Roque, Del Monte's 12-year-old teen wonder, captured the Flight B tiara with 89 points.

Alabang, the last winner of the championship division in the 1988 edition of the tournament, was victorious also, though this time, in the Founders Division.

Though it trailed Negros in 36 holes, the Alabang girls surged ahead in the third round with a 121 then capped it off in the final 18 with a 128 on Anna Mendoza's 47, Rita Horan's 46 and Joan Morales' 37 for 491.

Negros, which got 132-136 mainly because of Tanpinco's excellent games, stumbled with 96 and 105 for 469. As a consolation, Tanpinco was runner-up in the individual honors in Flight A behind de Guzman.

Riviera (99-425), Valley Golf-South (105-414), Cebu Country Club (103-391) and Mactan (93-371) completed the cast in the Founders.

Southwoods made it a double celebration as its Legends team stamped its class in the Sportswriters Division. Claudine Garcia and Nini Samaniego each carded a 44 while Heidi Schettkat added a 31 for 119 and 425.

Eagle Ridge was a far second with 395 after it assembled 100 on the 38 of Linda Goble, 34 of Jessie Cho and 28 of Edith Williams. Bacolod was third with 387 and Manila Golf fourth with 372. The Kooka-Birdies from Australia ended with a 173.

The Friendship Division was also a no-contest as host Rancho Palos Verdes (102-403) handily defeated fellow local Apo (92-355). At third place was Davao (83-333) followed by Victorias (101-325), Iloilo (73-308), Tagaytay Highlands (81-295), Japan (79-264), Malarayat (76-259) and Valley Golf North (77-230) competed in the same bracket.(pr)

PAL Ladies Interclub: Southwoods surges closer to Interclub champs title

DAVAO—Regine de Guzman took off from where Jayvie Agojo left, scoring a three-
under-par 69 for 57 PAL points to put Manila Southwoods-Masters on the verge of
nailing the championship division title of the sixth Philippine Airlines (PAL) Ladies
Interclub tournament at the Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club.

De Guzman carded a birdie on the 12th but slowed down with a bogey on the 18th.
In the front nine, she rolled in three birdies, including back-to-back on Nos. 7 and 8. Her
output, when added to Sunshine Baraquiel’s 53 and Beachie Abiera’s 44 totalled 154 and
468 with one round left in the revived event by PAL.

That’s 45 points better than Del Monte’s 423 after the Bukidnon girls pieced
together a 141. As usual, Lovelyn Guioguio was at the forefront of the attack with 53
markers. Rainstar Roque, the youngest competitor at 12 years old, and Taj Tabanas
checked in with 44 points apiece. Pam Mariano bombed out with a 39.

“We’re in great position. It takes off the pressure,” said Abiera, the playing
captain of Southwoods-Masters, whose men counterparts are reportedly eyeing to
duplicate the ladies’ success by beefing up its team lineup in preparation for the PAL
Men’s Interclub also set here February next year.

With the impending victory of Southwoods-Masters, focus has now shifted to
the Founders and Sportswriters divisions where the frontrunners saw their lead trimmed
considerably.

From 26 points, Negros slowed down with a 96 for 364 with 18 holes to play and
was only up by two as two-time champion Alabang’s 362 after it pulled through with a
120 on a hot and humid Thursday at the par-72, 5,098-yard championship layout.

With big gun and former national team member Anya Tanpinco already finished
with her mandatory two-day stint, her teammates struggled miserably with only Jocelyn
Garcia firing a 42. Joanne Reyes had a 31 and Joan Rojas a 23.

In stark contrast, Alabang, the last champion before the tournament was revived
by PAL this year, displayed more effort this time than the past two days. Ana Luisa
Mendoza paced with a 41, Korean Jang Eun-sil contributed a 40 and Joan Morales added
a 39 in the four-to-play, three-to-count format.

The Eagle Ridge ladies turned in a 109 for 295, cutting the lead of Manila
Southwoods-Legends from 20 to 11 in the Sportswriters Division.

Arlette Dizon and Leonila Patricio shared honors with 40 markers and was
supported by Rosemarie Johnsen’s 29 for Eagle Ridge. Southwoods-Legends (100-
306) was led by Serafina Young-mi’s 38 and the 31s each of Sandy Velhagen and Belle
Villanueva.

Host club Rancho Palos Verdes (97-301), meanwhile, had a virtual hold of the
Friendship Division crown as it pulled away by 38 against two local teams Apo Golf (84-
263) and Davao Golf (93-250).(pr)