Juvic joins hunt as ICTSI Cangolf unfolds

Defending champion Juvic Pagunsan made a last-minute change of heart and decided to join the ICTSI Canlubang Golf Invitational, turning the battle for top honors wide open when the P1 million is held beginning Wednesday, Nov. 24 at Cangolf's north course.

Pagunsan, who dominated the field to rule last year's staging of the final leg of the 13-stage local circuit, was earlier scheduled to play in Thailand on the Asian Tour which starts tomorrow (Thursday) but opted to head back home from Hong Kong where he finished joint 38th in the HK Open last week.

His presence is expected to further raise the level of play in the 54-hole tournament with the smooth-swinging Bacolod pro out not only to defend his crown but also to wrap up the Order of Merit crown of the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour.

A two-leg winner this season, Pagunsan leads Jay Bayron in the money ranking with three-leg champion Marvin Dumandan all primed up to go for a fourth one after winning the last two legs at ICTSI-Royal Northwoods and ICTSI-Mimosa.

Pagunsan drew the 11:30 a.m. flight on No. 10 in a group that includes Rufino Bayron and amateur Richard Joson although the late tee-off is not expected to slow down his bid for the top P200,000 purse in the tournament organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

Pagunsan leads the race with P917,332 while Jay Bayron has winnings of P830,817 and Dumandan in third with P731,973.

Coming off with a playoff victory and a four-stroke romp in the last two legs, Dumandan sets out for the tournament in high spirits, confident of

pulling off a victory over a field toughened up by the return of three fancied players and Merit contenders.

Jay Bayron, winner at Aboitiz Invitational in Cebu and No. 2 in the current OOM ranking, is back, along with No. 4 Artemio Murakami and No. 6 Tony Lascuna, hoping to foil Dumandan's bid in the tournament sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

"The course is in great shape and I think the key here will be on the tee shot and putting," said Dumandan, who is actually shooting for his fourth victory after topping the ICTSI-Sherwood Hills Classic last March.

With the fairways a bit wet due to rain the last few days, Dumandan said driving would be crucial while likewise putting weight on putting which he said could make or break one's title bid.

Also tipped to contend for the last leg crown in the circuit are ICTSI-Orchard leg winner Benjie Magada, Del Monte champion Cassius Casas, Ferdie Aunzo, Anthony Fernando, Rufino Bayron, Antonio Asistio, Jun Bernis and the debuting Jhonnel Ababa, who calls the challenging par-72 layout his home.

Reigning Philippine Open champion and ICTSI-Malarayat leg winner Elmer Salvador is also expected to crowd the favorites with the soft-spoken Davaoeno hoping to check his slump in preparation for his RP Open title defense next month.

The event is backed by MJ Carr Golf Management, Jaguar, Land Rover, Studio

23, Balls TV, Srixon/Cleveland Golf, Callaway Golf and Odyssey and media

partners BusinessMirror, Inquirer Golf Monthly, A Round of

Golf, Pinoygolfer.com and Omnisource.(pr)

Powerhouse ICTSI joins 61st Baguio Fil-Am Golf

THE powerhouse ICTSI Team will make its much-awaited debut in the Fil-Am Golf Invitational, ensuring a top-caliber competition in the summer capital that is Baguio City.    



The seniors event is on Nov. 27-Dec. 2 and the men's regular is on Dec. 6-11.



ICTSI will be topbilled by national standouts Peter Villaber and Dante Becierra when  it competes in the championship flight of the Fil Division in the annual spectacle presented this time by Toyota.



Villaber and Becierra will be joined by Sonny Boy Giallom, Justin Limjap and Carl Santos Ocampo in the largest gathering of amateur golfers from around the globe sponsored by American Eye Center, Rudy Project, Wilson Sports, Gatorade, Carts Plaza and Supreme Bikes.



But ICTSi will find Manila Southwoods a tough foe in the tournament still considered by the Guinness Book of World records as the world's biggest golf event, participation-wise.



Southwoods boasts of realiables Jun Jun Plana and Jikjik Abdon, who will team up with Chucky Hong, Theody Pascual and Justin Dy in the tournament set both at the Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay courses.



Mizuno is also returning and will be led by King Sthemeier and Juami Rocha, who are joined by John Baron Garcia, Rodel Mangulabnan and Richard Joson in the nation's longest running golf team championship.



The Batangas Barakos will be spearheaded by Mark Mendoza, Howie Sison, Dino Jimenez, Jeck Mendoza and Gerald Katigbak in the tournament supported by Dusit Thani Manila, New World Renaissance Hotel, Island Cove, Uniliver, Ritzgolf Sports Marketing and Willow Tree.



Hole in one prizes include a Toyota Vios for holes number 10 at  BCC and CJH.



A Yamaha Golf Cart is also a hole-in-one at holes 1 and 18 at the BCC and holes 4 and 15 at CJH. A ace-maker at holes 16 of BCC and 13 of CJH wins a Kymko motorcycle.



One gift certificate for Cataract Surgery with Multifocal Intraocular lens implantation will also be given at holes 7 and 11 of BCC and CJH, respectively.


Some 66 teams from around the globe are set to play in the two-week tournament now on its 61st straight year, a tribute to Filipino-American friendship began in 1949.(pr)

Storm hit World Am reduced to 54 holes

The Philippines got stranded in the second round of the World Amateur Golf
Championships reduced to 54 holes due to stormy weather with Denmark taking the
provisional lead with a 280 after a 141 at the Buenos Aires Golf Club in
Argentina Friday.
Play was first suspended at 9 a.m. (Argentina time) due to thunderstorm and
resumed at 11:50 a.m. only to be stopped again on 4:50 p.m. due to lightning,
forcing the organizers to suspend play and reduce the 72-hole competition to 54
holes.
The RP golfers, who had a horrible 12-over 156 in the first round, pooled a
five-over card when play was halted with Mhark Fernando scoring a two-over card
after six holes and Jhonnel Ababa and Judson Eustaquio carding three-over 39s at
the turn.

Denmark, with a three-under 141, made its move in the rain to gain the lead at
280. The Danes were among the 35 of the 69 teams in the field to complete play.
They hold a lead over teams that failed to finish their rounds. Canada stood at
five-under after three holes and first day leader France was at three-under
through nine holes.
The second round was suspended twice and then called for the day because of
dangerous weather and course conditions. It will resume at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Following completion of the round and a re-draw based on scores, the third round
will begin in the mid-to-late afternoon. The leading teams will play at Buenos
Aires Golf Club in the third round and the lower half will play at Olivos Golf
Club. The championship is now reduced to 54 holes and will conclude on Sunday.
The United States jumped to a provisional tie for fifth at one-under-par 285
while New Zealand stood at even par 286.
The Philippines, whose campaign is sanctioned by the NGAP and backed by ICTSI
and Philippine Sports Commission, wavered early with a 156 in the first round
and is hardpressed to do better in the second round to bounce back into
contention.
But with playing condition proving tougher, the RP golfers would need to toughen
up at resumption of play to improve on their opening 51st place effort Thursday.
Team RP finished joint 27th last time in Australia but the ICTSI-backed ladies
team of Dottie Ardina, Chihiro Ikeda and Mia Piccio made a superb joint eighth
finish in last week’s Espirito Santo Trophy, the best-ever by the team in the
biennial event.(pr)

RP golfers fumble in World Am opener

The Philippines turned in its worst start in the last five stagings of the World
Amateur Golf Championships as it hobbled with a 12-over 156 and fell to joint
51st in the Espirito Santo Trophy at the Buenos Aires Golf Club in Argentina
Thursday.
Mhark Fernando made a five-over 77 and Jhonnel Ababa limped home with a
seven-over 79 for the team’s 156 output, 19 strokes behind France which pooled a
seven-under 137 at the par-72 BAGC.
Canada also had a 137 but it assembled its five-under card at the par-71 Olivos
Golf Club, giving France an early two-stroke lead in the three-to-play,
two-to-count format event.
Judson Eustaquio didn’t count with an 80 as Team RP dropped into a tie with
unfancied Kenya in 51st place, its worst since the team of Jay Bayron, Michael
Bibat and Marvin Dumandan opened with a 10-over 154 and wound up 38th in the
2006 World Am in South Africa.
The RP golfers never recovered from a poor start at the backside of the
wind-raked layout with Fernando carding a six-over 41 from two double bogeys and
two bogeys against a bogey.

Eustaquio opened with a birdie on No. 10 but made a double bogey on No. 12 then
bogeyed three of the next six holes for a 40.
Ababa, in his final stint in the amateurs, stumbled with two bogeys and two
double bogeys and wound up with a birdie-less 42.
The 28-year-old Fernando, who will also turn pro after next month’s Asian Games,
hit back-to-back birdies from No. 1 but made three bogeys against a birdie in
the next seven holes for a 36 and a 77.
Ababa settled down with two bogeys against a birdie but hardly improved with a
37 and 79 while Eustaquio gunned down back-to-back birdies from No. 6 but had
four bogeys and a double-bogey for a second straight 40.
Still, the troika, whose campaign is sanctioned by National Golf Association of
the Phils. and backed by ICTSI and the Philippine Sports Commission, hopes to
improve as it tackles the shorter Olivos layout in the second round of the
72-hole championship Friday.(pr)

RP golfers open bid in World Am

The Philippines opens its campaign in the Eisenhower Trophy, the men’s side of
the World Amateur Golf Team Championships, which begins Thursday with 70 teams
slugging it out for top honors at the Olivos Golf Club and Buenos Aires Golf
Club in Argentina.
Hopes are high for the team of Mhark Fernando, Dabawenyo Jhonnel Ababa and US-based Judson
Eustaquio as the troika tries to duplicate the RP ladies’ best-ever finish of
joint eighth in the Espirito Santo Trophy last week.
Dottie Ardina, Dabawenya Chihiro Ikeda and Mia Piccio pooled a four-day total of 575 as
the ICTSI-backed team shared eighth place with Germany and New Zealand, the
country’s best since the 1968 team finished ninth in Australia.
“They are ready but they had to contend not only with the talent laden field and
a tough course but also the chilly weather here,” said NGAP official and team
captain Pablo Soon.
The RP men’s squad actually turned in a pair of third-place finishes in 1984 and
2002 but has struggled in the last three stagings of the biennial event, winding
up joint 23rd in 2004, ending up 38th in 2006 and sharing 27th place the last
time in Australia on a team built around Rufino Bayron, Ferdie Aunzo and Jerson
Balasabas.
But Fernando, Ababa and Eustaquio are all-geared up for this week’s event, a
three-to-play, two-to-count format tournament spread over four days.
Ababa, in fact, hopes to cap his stint in the ranks on a high note as the
veteran internationalist has decided to turn pro after this event.
Fernando, on the other hand, will leave the ranks after the Asian Games next
month with the former national champion raring to build up momentum and boost
his confidence with a solid showing this week in time for the Guangzhou Asiad.
Eustaquio, a former Florida Amateur champion, is also out to prove his worth in
the tournament featuring the world’s leading teams, headed by defending champion
Scotland and many-time titlist United States.
The team, handled by Tommy Manotoc and whose campaign is sanctioned by the
National Golf Association of the Phils. and sponsored by ICTSI, drew a morning
tee-off time at 7:30 a.m.  with Ababa kicking off RP’s campaign at the BAGC
against Jose Rodriguez of Puerto Rico and Dutch Robin Kind.
Eustaquio is paired with Robi Calvesbert and Fernand Osther while Fernando is
set to start with Rafael Campos and Daan Huizing.(pr)

RP Open returns to Valley Dec. 15-18

The Philippine Open, the country's premier golf championship, will be held Dec.
15-18  with Asia's oldest golfing event making its return to the Valley Golf
Club in Antipolo in nearly two decades.
Elmer Salvador will try to defend the crown he won over a stellar field
last year at Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club in Lipa, Batangas but will face
a highly charged field coming off a year-long campaign on the
ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour.
Registration is ongoing with fees pegged at P3,000 for local pros and $100
for foreign entries, according to the organizing National Golf Association of
the Phils. For details, contact NGAP (Susan Facundo) at 7065926 or 0917-5607074.
Salvador held off Dutchman Guido Van der Valk in the final round to chalk up
a three-stroke victory last year, capping a banner season that saw the Davaoeno
shotmaker also run away with the Order of Merit crown on the local circuit.
Last year's field that included the cream of the country's pro crop will be
back again in December, led by Frankie Minoza, Angelo Que, Tony Lascuna,
Artemio Murakami, Mars Pucay, Marvin Dumandan, Jay Bayron, Cassius Casas and
Robert Pactolerin.
Former national champion Mhark Fernando and Jhonnel Ababa are also expected
to join the hunt for the crown as they make their debut on the pro tour.
American Dennis Paulson humbled the local pros and other top foreign players
to capture the crown in the 1991 edition of the annual event at Valley, which
is expected to provide a different kind of challenge for the men of the tour.
Valley last hosted a pro tournament in 2009 with Salvador outlasting Ababa then
pulling off a two-stroke victory over Gene Bondoc with an eight-under 208 total.
The traditional pro-am tournament, featuring the leading pros and officials
of the event's sponsors and guests, will be held Dec. 14.
Like last year, the NGAP is pushing through with the Open at the end of the
year although it will not be a part of the Asian Tour for the second straight
time.
The Philippine Open used to be a leg of the Asian Tour with the local
players slugging it out with region's leading shotmakers. But after 2008, the AT
and NGAP officials had failed to strike a new deal, leaving the Open without
the Asian stars and out of the Asian Tour calendar.
(pr)

Gutsy Pinays turn in best finish of joint 8th

Gutsy Pinays turn in best finish of joint 8th

Dottie Ardina birdied two of the last four holes to fire a one-under 71 and
power the Philippines to a best-ever joint eighth finish in over four decades in
the World Amateurs Golf Team Championships topped by South Korea in Argentina
Saturday.
Chihiro Ikeda also birdied the par-5 15th to card a 74 at the Olivos Golf Club
as Team RP closed out with a decent one-over 145 in another brutal condition for
a 72-hole haul of one-under 575.
That was 29 strokes behind Korea’s amazing 30-under 546 but it proved enough to
better the country’s previous best finish of ninth in 1968 in Australia.
RP, then composed of Ikeda, Louise Manalo and Anya Tanpinco, placed joint 19th,
also in Australia, in 2008.
Mia Piccio, who anchored the team’s fine start with a 71, failed to count for
the third straight day with a 75.
“Mission accomplished,” said RP and ICTSI team coach Bong Lopez, who credited
her wards’ final round rebound after they succumbed to pressure and the tough
condition at Buenos Aires Golf Club layout in the third round.
“They really worked hard for this. The course and the pin position were super
tough not to mention the chilly weather and the wind,” said Lopez. “They knew
putting would carry them through the Top 10 and they delivered in the closing
holes.”
Ardina, 16, bucked her two-bogey mishaps with three birdies, including the last
from seven feet for that 71, as she wound up also tied for eighth in the
individual competition with a 286 aggregate.
Piccio, who turned 19 Saturday, wound up joint 48th at 295 while Ikeda, also 19,
finished a stroke farther back at 296 for a share of 53rd.
South Korea capped its domination of the event with a 139 for that 546 and a
17-stroke romp over the United States, who had a 563 after a 143.
Han Jung-eun shot a 70-275, Kim Ji-hee turned in a 71-277 and Kim Hyun-soo made
a 69-278 as they took the top three placers for a rare sweep of the individual
race, making them the team to beat in next monthAsian Games.
Sweden (146), France (147) and South Africa (148) finished tied for third at 572
while Spain placed sixth with a 573 after a 148 and Canada pooled a 143 for solo
sevent at 574.
Germany struggled with a 152 while New Zealand assembled a 142 to join the
Philippines, who campaigned was sponsored by ICTSI and sanctioned by the
National Golf Association of the Phils., at eighth.
Lopez said Team RP’s joint eighth feat augurs well for their Asian Games’ bid
although he admitted that the Koreans will indeed be tough to beat. Ardina and
Piccio headed straight to the US and will arrive in Manilaon Nov. 10 before
going to Guangzhou while Ikeda will toughen up by playing in a couple of more
tournaments.(pr)