LAST week, the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation was held. Former President Clinton was there to support the event.
The winners were: champion – Patrick Reed, 2nd– Ryan Palmer, tied for 3rd place – Zach Johnson and Justin Leonard, and 5th – Brian Stuard. President Clinton was not around anymore during the final round but he called Reed to congratulate him on his victory.
What’s Next? This week is the Farmers Insurance Open set on Jan. 23 to 26. What is nice about this tournament is that both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are playing. This tournament is Tiger’s first tournament of this season while Phil has played two tournaments already. FYI, Tiger has won this tournament seven times already, while Phil has won this tournament 3 times.
Last Jan. 8-10, 2014, the 2014 Philippine Ladies Open was held at Forest Hills Golf & CC. Supamas Sangchan of Thailand emerged as champion. She won by four strokes. In second was Princess Superal. Tied for third were Daniella Uy, Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras of Thailand, and Sherman Santiwiwattanaphong of Thailand. In sixth was Pauline Del Rosario.
Where was Chichang Ikeda? FYI, this tournament was for amateurs only. The Davao favorites like Chihiro Ikeda and Sarah Jane Ababa are already golf professionals. One big difference between an amateur player and a professional is that an amateur cannot win a cash prize while a pro can win cash.
The format of the Philippine Ladies Open is this—30 percent of the lowest handicaps and ties will automatically compete in the Open Championship Division. In addition, the 30 percent lowest scores over the first round of 18 holes will also qualify to compete for the Open Championship Division. The rest of the competitors will compete for the Intermediate Championship, meaning, they will fall under Class A or Class B.
I used to join the Philippine Ladies Open before. This was when I was in such a competitive mode then. I would really play hard during the first day because my goal was always to get into the Open Championship Division. Just like what you see on the PGA Tour, ayoko ma-cut after the second day! I want to compete with the best players even if I do not stand a chance. Hehe.
My last Open was with Cecile Co, I remember. Hi Cecile! Those were the days when Jennifer Rosales was still an amateur and she was the girl to beat. And yes, I got into the Open Championship Division. Whew! And although I did not win, all the players in the Open Championship were given a token. It was such an honor to get into the Open Championship! And I received a silver spaghetti scooper as a token.
In the Intermediate Championship, in Class A, the winner was Sofia Legaspi. In class B, the winner was Ikuko Kito of Japan. Two ladies from Davao joined the competition this year—Roselyn Sara and Stella Barnes. Roselyn Sara competed in Class A Division and Stella Barnes competed in Class B Division. They were not able to get in to the Open Championship, however, Stella Barnes finished tied for third place in Class B. Congratulations Stella!
Congratulations to the winners of the 3rd Monthly Medal Tournament of Rancho Palos Verdes held last Jan. 17-19. Here they are: overall gross champion – Paul Garcia, overall net champion – Eugene Chiong, class A gross champion – Kuresh Samanodi, net champion – Jung In Kyo; class B gross champion – Kang Ho Bong, net champion – Kim Min Suk; class C gross champion – Jiggs Calixto, net champion – Jake Ortega; class D gross champion – Romano Venuti, net champion – Emil Hager;
Seniors gross champion – Diemy Monedero, net champion – Fred Abundo; super seniors gross champion – Tamio Sakurai, net champion – Bill Donohoe; jungolf (11 yrs & below) champion – Shin Nari, runner-up – Timothy Clark Co; jungolf (12-17 yrs old) champion – Kim Hyun, runner-up – Kim Young Jun; ladies gross champion – Chon Young Rung; guests div 1 gross champion – Park Joung In, net champion – Roy Jimenez; and guests div 2 gross champion – Brian Davila, net champion – Tony Milan.