Luisita rallies to reclaim Seniors title over Cangolf

Witha final day team that delivered as envisioned, Luisita on Saturday completed a come-from-behind victory in the Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub after winning out in a tense battle in the closing holes at well-manicured Alta Vista to dethrone Canlubang.

Ex-pro Dan Cruz birdied his last three holes to rescue a level-par 72 worth 54 points, and Chino Raymundo added 51 as the duo made up the bulk of the Luisitans’ closing 151, good enough for a seven-point win over the Sugar Barons in the event regarded as the unofficial team championship of the country.

It all boiled down to Luisita-Canlubang in the end as Cebu Country Club, bidding to win the overall title playing in the Founders Division, sputtered with a 141, losing its two-point overnight lead early and never able to recover.

The Cebuanos, though, ran away with the title in their division, their 564 total good for a 24-point win over The Orchard.

“Our closing team just clicked,” Jeric Hechanova, the non-playing skipper who put this Luisita team together, said before the celebration started. “It was a tense day against Canlubang, as always, but the players delivered when they needed to.”

Steve McDonald’s 46 was the last card that counted for Luisita, which threw away the 42 of Rodel Mangulabnan, even as Cangolf was led by the 53 of Damasus Wong and the 50 of Mari Hechanova, who dropped shots in each of his last three holes.

Manila Southwoods got 54 points from Jun Jun Plana, 49 from Theody Pascual and 46 from Joseph Tambunting to finish a point behind Canlubang, who won this event the last time it was held in 2020 when

CHITO MALABANAN JABONG!

As action in the 74th PAL Interclub Golf tournament take a weekend break after the Seniors Tournament, focus will temporarily shift to the side event, a golf tournament among friends from the media of the PAL organizers, a part of the tradition of this yearly PAL event. The perfect time to bond together and renew friendship and camaraderie among media par busters.

For this year’s edition it will be held in Mactan Golf and Country Club on

February 26,2023 and the final day on February 27th at the Alta Vista Golf and Country club.

This is my first tournament in PAL as a media practitioner and saying I am excited is an understatement. I say yes without hesitation when my editor in chief advise me to pack my bags and cover the event. Getting inside the ropes and seeing the top amateur golfers in the country hitting those dimpled balls is enough to increase the excitement on

Bacolod played host and before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the event for two years.

Hechanova said that the team will be kept intact, basically, save for the expected departure of one of its mainstays next year.

“We will try to keep the whole team as much as possible,” Hechanova, who recruited Tarlac native Marty Ilagan, said. Ilagan counted with 47 points in the first round also at Alta Vista.

The event takes a two- day break before Regular Men’s action, where Southwoods is the heavy favorite, begins.Cebu Country Club and Club Filipino in Danao will host the 72-hole championship.

The annual event, with the theme of “Back to Ignite,” considered the country’s unofficial national team championship, was shelved for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the 74th staging of the event is supported by platinum sponsors ABS-

AND NOW, FOR THE MEDIA TOURNAMENT

the next level. Participating in the Media golf is an added bonus.

“ Create memories, have fun, it’s your time to shine” says my editor in chief Neil Bravo. My golf buddy for a long time since our Lanang days and partner during the days of Dr Max.

Indeed after a two year hiatus, sports media buddies are raring to meet up once again for this annual fellowship of media golfers not only to play and hit those divots but primarily to have fun and enjoy while taking a break from long hours of covering the event.

The tournament format is handicap /stroke play taking into account the cumulative scores of the two day tourney. Handicapping will based on previous handicaps used in previous PAL media tournament.

Jake Ayson will serve as the Tournament Director. Awards night, fun and drinks will follow at the Radisson Blue Hotel on the night after the final day of the tournament.