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BAGUIO
CITY—It was AAV-Robros-Ventures Link’s time to shine on
a sunny Tuesday as it produced an opening-round 117
points en route to the overall leadership in “Fil” A
division of the 58th Fil-Am Invitational Golf
tournament.
John
Tambunting turned in a superb round at the short and
tricky Baguio Country Club after a three-over-par 64,
worth 33 points in the modified PAL Stableford system,
to lead AAV-Robros-Ventures Link.
 Tambunting’s teammates also came up huge, with Al Etrone
carding 29, Ludwig Ledesma contributing 28 and Teody
Pascual adding 27 for that 117 for the day. Fifth man
Eric Jaudines made 14, but did not count in the
five-to-play, four-to-count format.
Not too
far behind are the Mizuno-Beeline Helicopters with 116
points. King Stehmeier, a member of the De La Salle U
golf squad, paced with 30, followed by Joselito Arceo
and John Garcia with 29s and Gerald Katigbak 28.
Camp Aguinaldo
pooled in 115, while Philippine Navy assembled 113, as
both teams remained in contention. A distant fifth was
Del Monte Monterrey with 108 and Golden Oats Plus, whose
seniors’ team won last week, was sixth with 105. VSC was
seventh with 104.
Over at
the nearby Camp John Hay layout, Matikas ’83 proved
steadier despite the slippery greens as it garnered 104
points and took a three-point spread over Mikey’s Bar’s
101 in the “Am’ A division.
Nike
out, Club Marinduque in
Too bad
Nike Golf is not defending its titles in both the “Fil”
and “Am” championship divisions. But the good news is,
its players are back under a new team, Club Marinduque,
and are looking forward for another fruitful campaign
like what their predecessors had done in the last two
years.
In fact,
Club Marinduque has the right tools of continuing Nike
Golf’s winning ways.
Expected
to spearhead Club Marinduque is Jay Bayron, acknowledged
as the country’s top amateur who will play in his final
amateur tournament here before he jets to the second leg
of the Asian Tour Qualifying School next week.
Bayron’s
cousin Rufino Bayron joins the team with National
Caddies Foundation members Mario Labajo, Paul Echavez,
Jhonnel Ababa, Peter Villaber and Mark Fernando in the
“Fil” squad.
The
charismatic Tommy Manotoc, who is aging like wine, leads
the “Am” team with Joseph Labajo, Jerson Balasabas,
Zanie Boy Gialon and Ryan Lam.
Nike’s
chief rival, Manila Southwoods, will be parading players
who come mostly from the ICTSI golf stable. Suiting up
for the “Fil” side are Anthony Fernando, Mike Bibat,
Gene Bondoc, Tonlits Asistio and Canadian Il-Jin Chun,
while the “Am” group features Junjun Plana, Montito
Garcia, Miko Alejandro, Erwin Vinluan and Chucho
Martinez.
“We have
a strong team this year. The boys promise to give Club
Marinduque a good fight,” said Southwoods captain Thirdy
Escano.
The
“Fil” and “Am” championship flights tee-off starting
today in both the Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay
courses. |
