|
BAGUIO CITY—Kat
Gonzales slowed down but Claire Ong and Beachie Abiera
picked up the slack as Manila Southwoods-Masters kept
the premier Group I title of the fifth Asian Ladies Team
Championship Thursday at the Camp John Hay Golf Club
course.
After registering 54 and 52 points under
the Stableford Scoring System, Gonzales misfired on two
of the last three holes to finish with a 50—a
four-over-par 73 in the par-69 Jack Nicklaus course for
her lowest output in the 54-hole tournament.
Gonzales, one of the country’s top
juniors in the 1990s, carded two birdies on Nos. 5 and
13, but dropped six bogeys overall. However, the petite
Abiera produced a team-high 51 and Ong added a 50 for
the Cavite-based squad, which tallied 151 for 437.
Fourth member Claudine Garcia’s 45 did
not count but she made her first hole-in-one in eight
years at John Hay’s par-three, 130-yard 18th hole using
an eight-iron Yamaha and Bridgestone Ball No. 4. She
had Matet Salivio, Tina Gonzales and Liza de Leon as
flight mates.
“It was a total team effort. Gonzales
played her usual game but Ong and Abiera really stepped
up big today. They were the difference,” said
Southwoods-Masters team captain Nini Samaniego.
Orchard-Palmer, which went head-to-head
with Southwoods-Masters in the first two days, collapsed
Thursday. It turned in 140 points, 52 of which came from
11-year-old kid Princess Mary Superal.
Superal’s sister Crystal Superal only
managed a 47 and Tina Gonzales added 41 for
Orchard-Palmer. Aguinaldo Hyper-X checked in third with
130-404, and Valley South fourth with 129-377. Forest
Hills was fifth with 115-363.
Tagaytay Highlands won Group II.
Marilen Yaptangco sizzled with 48 points, Hedy See 43
and Maline Flores 41 for 132 and 379 aggregate. Fifteen
points down was Camp John Hay Team I with 126-364.
Baguio-based Korea Team I cruised to the
Group III crown. It zoomed past Camp John Hay Team II,
368-299, the 69-point spread being the largest winning
margin in the three-day affair which used the
four-to-play, three-to-count format.
Tagaytay Belle topped Group IV on Hannah
See’s final-day 36, Dionne Cu’s 32 and Marissa Vergara’s
31 for a 278 total.
Camp
John Hay Golf Club chairman Robert John Sobrepena was
very elated with the turnout and promised a bigger and
better tournament next year. The Camp John Hay Asian
Ladies had Wilson Sports, Sitel, Golforce Inc., Asia
Pacific Golf Corp, Le Chef, The Manor at Camp John Hay,
Kork Inc. and Starbucks as major sponsors. Adrian
Flores |
