CAGAYAN DE ORO — Tommy Manotoc missed a two-footer for par on the seventh hole at Del Monte Saturday, but still posted a tournament-best 56 points to lift Canlubang to a commanding 11-point lead over defending champion Luisita in the 24th Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub golf team championships.
Manotoc, who sat out the first two rounds, struggled on the greens, missing five birdie putts inside eight feet, but picked up two of his three birdies on the par-5 ninth and 14th holes.
No team in memory has come back from 11 points down in the final day to win the seniors’ event.
“It’s never over until it’s over, but it looks really, really good,” said Manotoc who uses a brand-new, custom-built Ping set.
Tony Olives followed up his 54 points at Pueblo with 52 points to back up Manotoc while Bing Bunye rounded up Canlubang’s scoring with 46 points.
Team owner Luigi Yulo did not count for the second straight day with 45 points. With 18 holes remaining, Canlubang has a three-day total of 460 points while Luisita has 449.
Luisita reserved top guns Iggy Clavecilla and Francis Gaston for the final round and consequently paid the price.
Pepot Inigo, Manotoc’s flightmate, was Luisita’s top scorer with 51 points while Herminio Maravilla and Bong Sison added a pair of 48s.
Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia struggled with 41 points and failed to count for Luisita.
Garcia admitted that his job at PSC took its toll on his game.
“Hindi na tayo sanay na walang golf cart. I nearly had cramps. But the ball is round, we’re not giving up,” said the silver-haired sports czar.
Garcia, however, admitted that the lead is too big to overcome.
“Di bale, marami namang bangin sa Pueblo, itutulak na lang namin sila doon,” Garcia joked.
Clavecilla paid tribute to Manotoc’s shotmaking skills.
“He’s that good. We have two chances: Slim and none,” said Clavecilla who on Friday fired 55 points at Del Monte.
In the Founders division, it’s a three-horse race with Manila Golf Club grabbing a one-point lead over Camp John Hay and Cebu Country Club.
Manila Golf Club, three points behind John Hay at the start of the day, tallied 139 points at the Del Monte golf course in Bukidnon to seize the lead with 424 points going into the final round at Pueblo de Oro.
Banker OV Espiritu-led Manila Golf with 50 points with Eduardo Cu-Unjieng and Mike Prieto chipping in 46 and 43, respectively.
Manila Golf could have posted a much comfortable lead if not for Cu-Unjieng’s meltdown coming home after breezing through the first nine at even par.
Prieto, on the other hand, was saddled by three-putt bogeys. He ended the round with a missed birdie putt from four feet.
Jaime Panganiban did not count for Manila Golf. Mars Garcia, an engineer, paced John Hay with 46 points and got solid support from Clyde Cabreros (45) and Goody Ignacio (44). Rudy Lockey failed to count with 41.
Cebu Country Club shot 143 on the strength of Hotii Horit’s 51, Efren Sarmiento’s 47 and Masatsugu Ochiai’s 45. Antonio Florendo’s 39 was not counted.
Del Monte was running fourth with 419 followed by Orchard with 414.
Over at the Pueblo de Oro, Zamboanga Golf drew 45 points from Danny Cordero, to build a 26-point lead over Fil-Am San Francisco. Travelers was running third with 302 points.
This year’s competition is backed by platinum sponsors Boeing, Airbus, Radio Mindanao Network, Business Mirror and Interactive Broadcast Media (DWWW).
Major sponsors are People Asia, 105.1 Crossover, GE Aviation, Asia Brewery and Traversing the Orient. Also lending support are corporate sponsors Manila Bulletin and Bombo Radyo Philippines, while minor sponsors are Lufthansa Technik Philippines, MasterCard and Century Park Hotel. Prize donors include Panasonic Avionics and Tanduay.
source: manila bulletin
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