CAGAYAN DE ORO – They are getting younger every year.
I refer to the annual gathering of golfers in the Southern Ladies, the nation’s top tournament for the distaff side held in the major cities of Visayas and Mindanao on a rotation basis.
It used to be that Cebu was the perennial host of the Southern Ladies, which was started by the National Golf Association of the Philippines in 1964, or three years after the birth of the NGAP in 1961 under the presidency of the late Dindo Gonzales.
The reason behind the staging of the Southern Ladies is to discover lady golfers from the South for possible inclusion to national teams bound for battles overseas.
This year’s edition is the 50th, prodding Southern Ladies pioneer Alice Andrada to make it “one of the most memorable, if not the most memorable, ever” in the history of the event.
Already, the event being laden with club-wielding kids made it memorable enough.
Last year, Princess Superal, only 15 years old and the granddaughter of Bacolod hotshot Wency Superal, won in Cebu after beating Sunshine Baraquel in a thrilling sudden-death at the Cebu Country Club.
As I write this, Princess was leading Taguig’s Harmie Constantino by eight strokes with 14 holes left to play yesterday.
It is not that Princess could not finish off Harmie.
It is that Harmie is only 11 years old.
Princess followed up her 3-under-par 69 in Day One at Pueblo de Oro with a 68 on Thursday for a 7-under total.
But how about this: Harmie shooting 74-71 in the first two days of the event that has staked a car (Toyota Vios) for the first time in 50 years?
Yannie Saberon, the Sun*Star Davao sports editor, texted me yesterday to say I needed to e-mail my All Write as soon as I can.
Not wanting to be fired, I ran back to the clubhouse to rush this—leaving behind the flight of Princess and Harmie at No. 4.
It was almost a given that Princess would defeat Harmie, one of only two 11-year-olds (the other was Martina Minoza of Del Monte, Bukidnon) in the tournament laden with teeners aged 12, 14, 15 and 16.
Indeed, the future of Philippine ladies golf is safe.
(alsol47@yahoo.com)