Fierce battle seen in Phl Am Open

A wide-open battle for top honors in both the men’s and ladies divisions is expected when the Philippine Amateur Open Golf Championships is held Jan. 5-8 at the Canlubang Golf and Country Club in Laguna.

 

Wang Jeung Hun ran away with a six-shot victory over Jobim Carlos at the tough Riviera's Langer layout last year but the Korean teener faces a stiff challenge this time, not only from Carlos and the other local aces but also from a slew of foreign challengers.

 

Top players Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have confirmed participation in the blue-ribbon event, kicking off a series of tournaments lined up by organizing National Golf Association of the Phils. this year in its continuing effort to provide members of the national pool top-level tournaments.

 

But the challenge will most likely come from Carlos, who is coming off a big victory in last week’s NGAP National Doubles Golf Championship at the AFP Golf Club where he and partner Raymundo Gonzales dominated the field via a seven-stroke victory.

 

Rupert Zaragosa, the reigning junior and national champion, former titlist Clyde Mondilla, John Kier Abdon, Art Arbole and Miggy Yee of the ICTSI-Canlubang squad, Cebu’s Lloyd Go and the crack squad from reigning PAL Interclub champion Del Monte, led by Noel Langamin, Magno Arancon and Leonard Lofranco, are also in the fold, ensuring a battle royale in the four-day stroke-play championship.

 

Others seeing action are jungolfers Carlos Packing and Lawrence Celestino of Eastridge, Forest Hills’ Raymund Inigo and Joseph Uy, Tagaytay Highlands’ Junro Mamaril, Jama Reyes of Alabang, Wolen Superal, Eugene Bunyi, Rogeio Roque, Miguel Shah of Alabang, Sebastian Lorenzo, Santiago Lorenzo, Gino Brizuela, Justin Quiban, Miko Alejandro and Brent Sumampong.

 

A down-to-the-wire battle is also seen in the ladies side with Andie Unson tipped to go up against her teammates in the ICTSI squad, headed by Dottie Ardina, Jayvie Agojo, Sarah Ababa and Lovelynn Guioguio.

 

They will be challenged by emerging stars Rainstar Roque and Claire Amelia Legaspi along with Chanelle Avaricio, Princess Superal, Ann Therese Sabater, Rachita Vasandani, Pauline del Rosario, Micah Shin, Apple Fudolin, Ping Jarales and veteran campaigner Eva Minoza.

 

Amelia Yong and Koh Soch Hwee, meanwhile, head the foreign challenge with the Singaporean shotmakers along with a couple of Malaysian bets planing in tomorrow (Tuesday) to familiarize themselves with the tough par-72 layout.(pr)

Wang coasts to 4-shot win; Guioguio prevails

One year after he blew it via disqualification, Wang Jeung Hun captured the WWWExpress-DHL National Golf Championships crown in emphatic fashion, winning by four shots over Clyde Mondilla with a six-under 66 at Cangolf’s north course, Friday.
Wang closed out the way he started the 72-hole event – on a bogey-free stint – underscoring his top form and seriousness to win the crown he lost to Jhonnel Ababa last year due to infraction.
This time, he played a near-flawless game all week, making just three bogeys over four days when all the others kept on dropping shots on a course that played a little bit friendly in the absence of the wind.
He wound up with an impressive 18-under 270 total, from a pair of 66s and 69s, completing his mastery of the field and the layout where he also reigned as the Canlubang Am Open champion late last year.
Mondilla also shot a 66, a solid round he spiked with an eagle on the par-5 14th. Four shots behind Wang at the start of the final round, the reigning national champion dropped a shot farther back at the turn but strung up three straight birdies from No. 10 to move within two.
But Wang hung on while Mondilla failed to sustain his fightback and bogeyed No. 13. He closed to within two again after that eagle on the next hole which Wang birdied, but the Filipino challenger stumbled with another bogey on the par-3 15th to fall behind by three again.
Wang then birdied the next two to pull away for good with Mondilla holing out with a birdie for his own version of a 66 and a 274.
Lovelynn Guioguio bogeyed the last two holes for a 73 but still pulled off a two-stroke victory over Andie Unson in the ladies side of the tournament sponsored by WWWExpress and DHL headed by chair Rod V. Feliciano and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils.
Guioguio assembled a 216 over 54 holes, holding off ICTSI teammate Unson, who fell short of her bid to add the title to her The Country Club low amateur plum two weeks ago. Unson shot a 71 and finished with a 218.
Chihiro Ikeda, winner of the last three editions of the event hosted by Cangolf, failed to get her game going and struggled to finish third at 219 after a 75.
Sarah Ababa, the erstwhile pursuer, ballooned to a 77 and tumbled down to fourth at 221 while Jayvie Agojo placed fifth with a 222 after a 72.
Reigning national champion Irina Gabasa wound up sixth with a 223 after a 72 followed by Kim Bo Ah, who skied to a 78 and a 226, and Daniela Uy and Dottie Ardina, who both had a 228 after a 75 and 77, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Phl squad of Miguel Tabuena, Jerson Balabas and Jobim Carlos pooled a 214 and won the third RVF Southeast Asian Cup men's team crown with a 420, beating the Wang-led Korea, which had a 422 after a 219 while Singapore placed third with a 436 after a 225.
Jobim Carlos, whom Wang beat to claim the Cangolf Am plum, rallied with a 68 and salvaged third place with a 280 while Zanieboy Gialon matched par 72 and settled for fourth at 282.
Gregory Foo shot a 69 to snatch fifth place at 285 while Dino Villanueva and Jerson Balasabas finished tied for sixth at 286 after a pair of 71s.
Dante Becierra and Carl Ocampo of the ICTSI-The Country Club shared eighth place at 288 after a 71 and 76, respectively, while Miguel Tabuena, the Asian Games silver medalist, carded a 75 and wound up tied for 10th with Keane Jahns, who had a 73, at 289.(pr)

Wang keeps 4-shot lead; Guioguio up

Wang Jeung Hun fended off Clyde Mondilla's charge and matched the reigning national champion's three-under par 69 card Thursday, keeping his four-shot lead intact for a clear shot at the WWWExpress-DHL National Golf Championships crown at Canlubang's north course.
Like in the previous rounds, Wang played solid golf under ideal condition, setting up birdie chances with superb iron game and then sinking most of them with steady putting that put him way ahead of the field.
He made five birdies, including two at the back that negated his two late bogeys on Nos. 15 and 17, his second 69 giving him a 12-under 204 total and 18 holes away from claiming the crown he lost when he was disqualified in the final round last year.
Mondilla tried to press his bid with back-to-back birdies from No. 4 but reeled back with a bogey on No. 7. He birdied two of the next three holes but failed to get any closer when he flubbed a short birdie putt on No. 17 which Wang, spearhead of a crack Riviera squad, bogeyed.
Worse, Mondilla, playing out of Del Monte, overshot the 18th green and missed another short putt for par, settling for a 69 and a 208.
Zanie Boy Gialon bounced back from a 73 with a 70 but the ICTSI-The Country Club bet, who trailed Wang by just one in the first round, stood too far at 210, six strokes adrift, and would need a low round to at least earn a shot at the crown in the 16th staging of the annual event sponsored by WWWExpress and DHL headed by chair Rod V. Feliciano.
But a three-way battle for the ladies title loomed as Lovelynn Guioguio surged ahead with a 143 after a one-under 71, wresting a one-stroke lead over first round leader Sarah Ababa and a charging three-time defending champion Chihiro Ikeda heading into the final round of the 54-hole tournament hosted by Cangolf.
Meanwhile, the Phl squad of Miguel Tabuena, Jerson Balabas and Jobim Carlos pooled a 214 and won the third RVF Southeast Asian Cup men's team crown with a 420, beating the Wang-led Korea, which had a 422 after a 219 while Singapore placed third with a 436 after a 225.
Guioguio, chasing her first big crown in years, sizzled with four birdies against a bogey at the front but dropped three strokes in the last four holes, including a double-bogey mishap on the par-3 15th, for that 71.
Ababa, who showed up the fancied bets with a 70 in the first round, faltered with two 37s and limped with a 74, dropping to second with a 144, the same output put in by Ikeda, who matched Guioguio's one-under card.
Ikeda, eyeing a fourth straight championship in the event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils., birdied the first two holes on each nine but had three bogeys and settled for a 71.
Andie Unson matched par 72 but stood four strokes off at 147 while Kim Bo Ah had a 148 after a 72 and Kim Hui Mang and Jayvie Agojo at 150 after a 74 and 76, respectively.
Reigning national champion Irina Gabasa and Dottie Ardina hobbled with 76 and 79, respectively, and were too far off at 151.
Carlos also lay way behind in the men's side despite a 69 as he totaled a 212 for joint fourth with Carl Ocampo, who had a 72, while Tabuena fumbled with a 73 for a 214, 10 shots off Wang.(pr)

Wang sustains form, pulls away by 4 with 69

Wang Jeung Hun slowed down with a three-under 69 but raced away by four strokes over reigning national champion Clyde Mondilla, threatening to blow away the field in the WWWExpress-DHL National Golf Championships at Canlubang's north course in Laguna, Wednesday.
Wang, whose bogey-free 66 put him in command Tuesday, stayed in control under ideal playing condition, knocking down four birdies against his first bogey in 36 holes on No. 11, giving him a 36-hole haul of nine-under 135 and a big cushion in his bid to win the crown he lost via disqualification last year.
He stood four shots ahead of Mondilla, who took over the challenger’s role after erstwhile pursuers Zanieboy Gialon and fellow Korean and Riviera teammate Cho Dae Hyung tumbled down with mediocre scores despite the absence of the dreaded wind.
Mondilla spiked his four-under 68 with an eagle-3 on No. 14 and added three birdies that more than made up for his lone bogey mishap on the par-3 No. 11.
With a 139 aggregate, the Del Monte bet, trying to end a series of so-so finishes in the last few months, moved into contention to add the WWWExpress-DHL title to the national crown he won at home last year.
Carl Ocampo, the Fil-Am bet from the ICTSI-The Country Club stable, shot the day’s best round of five-under 67 he capped with a stirring six-under 30 at the front on his homeward trip.
From joint 13th before the round, Ocampo jumped to a share of third with Gialon and Cho at 140 with 36 holes remaining in the 16th staging of the event sponsored by WWWExpress and DHL.
Gialon wavered with a 73 after an impressive 67 while Cho settled for two 36s for a 72 after a 68.
Miguel Tabuena missed matching Ocampo’s 67 as he flubbed a short birdie putt on No. 9, settling for a 68 although he moved up to joint sixth with Aristeo Mata, who had a 71, at 141.
Meanwhile, Sarah Ababa turned in the lone under round of 70 to wrest a two-shot lead over ICTSI teammates Dottie Ardina and Lovelynn Guioguio at the start of the 54-hole ladies championship conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils.
Defending three-time champion Chihiro Ikeda, chasing her third title early in the season after topping the Philippine Ladies Open and the Southern Ladies, stayed within striking distance with a 73 while Jayvie Agojo stood in fifth with a 74.
Apple Fudolyn carded a 75 to fall in a three-way tie for sixth with reigning national champion Irina Gabasa and Andie Unson, the low amateur in the recent The Country Club Invitational.
In team competition, also known as the RVF Southeast Asian Cup, the Philippine team of Tabuena, Jerson Balasabas and Jobim Carlos combined for a 137 for a 281 to seize a one-stroke lead over South Korea heading in the final 18 holes.
While Wang, playing out of Riviera, sustained his form, teammates Hwang Kang Youl and Yeom Seo Hyun floundered as they fumbled with a 144 and slid to second with a 282.
Singapore remained in far third with a 293 after a 144.(pr)

Wang shows way with flawless 66

Riviera's Wang Jeung Hun outshot Asian Games silver medalist Miguel Tabuena in an early clash of the fancied bets, firing a bogey-free 66 and posting a one-stroke lead over Zanieboy Gialon at the start of the the WWWExpress-DHL National Golf Championships at Canlubang's north course in Laguna, Tuesday.
Wang, out to redeem himself from last year's final round infraction that cost him the championship here, hit two birdies at the front then drained four more at the back, including back-to-back from No. 16, for a 34-32 card on a nearly wind-less but hot and humid day.
That put the 16-year-old Wang, seeking a second straight championship here after ruling the Canlubang Am Open last year, on top of a strong field that includes the country's leading amateurs and a number of international players.
Gialon, one of the most promising players from the ICTSI-The Country Club squad, turned in the most impressive start of three straight birdies, added another one on No. 9 then knocked down two more birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to negate a missed-green bogey mishap on No. 15. He had a 32 and 35.
Cho Dae Hyung, Wang's teammate at Riviera, launched his title bid at the backside of the par-72 layout, gunning down three birdies against a bogey then matched Gialon's three-birdie feat from No. 1 against another bogey on No. 5 for a 68, two shots off his fellow South Korean.
Tabuena, tipped as one of the players to beat in the four-day championship sponsored by WWWExpress and DHL, birdied the opening hole but had a rollercoaster round after dropping a shot on No. 5. He made a double-bogey on the par-3 No. 6, hit birdies on Nos. 11, 14 and 15 but reeled back with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15. He wound up with a 73 and fell to joint 13th with six others.
Earlier, WWWExpress and DHL chair Rod V. Feliciano; Joe Feliciano, president of WWWExpress, Cangolf chief Luigi Yulo and DHL officials Duncan Gates, Anthony Latham and Gerric Martinez, hit the ceremonial drive to kick off the 16th staging of the event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils and hosted by Cangolf.
Meanwhile, Korea, bannered by the Riviera group of Wang, Hwang Kang Youl and Yeom Seo Hyun, paced the third RVF Cup or the 54-hole team championship, pooling a 138 for a six-shot lead over the Phl's Tabuena, Balasabas and Jobim Carlos, who assembled a 144. Singapore groped for form with a 149 total.
Unheralded Aristeo Mata, playing out of Aguinaldo, bucked a double-bogey mishap on No. 4 and finished with a 35-35 round, highlighted by three straight birdies from No. 14 to put himself in early contention with a 70 in a tie with top ICTSI-TCC bet Dante Becierra.
The former Hong Kong Open Am champion, out to check a long skid, mixed three birdies with one bogey at the front then parred the rest of the holes for a 34-36 while four players churned out 71 scores, including reigning national champion Clyde Mondilla.
Other one-under par scorers were Dino Villanueva, Korean Jung Han Min and last year's runner-up Jerson Balasabas while Art Arbole. Yeom Seo Hyun and Yemo Ka Hyun matched par 72s.
Joining Tabuena in the 73 group were Carl Ocampo, Park Gyu-ha, Hwang, Agustin Mata, Dave Hernandez and Singapore's Gregory Foo.(PR)