Cangolf sizzles at home, sweeps WGAP 7th leg

MANILA, Philippines - Canlubang made full use of its familiarity with Cangolf’s South Course, dominating the field and posting the first-ever sweep of three divisions in the 2014 Champion Infinity WGAP Circuit in Laguna recently.

The Cangolf ladies toppled the Manila Southwoods side in Class A, trounced their Valley rivals in Class B and defeated the Tagaytay squad in Class C, all in emphatic fashions to score a whopping nine-point output that likewise put them back in the hunt for a berth in the elite five-team WGAP Cup.

Flordeliza Silao fired 42 Stableford points, Ikuko Kito shot a 39 and Luisa Lorenzo and Recy Barrientos backed them up with 38 and 34, respectively, as Cangolf assembled a 153 to beat Manila Southwoods (144) and Sta. Elena (140) for the Class A crown in the penultimate leg of the eight-stage circuit presented by Champion Infinity and sponsored by Meralco.

Forest Hills and Villamor pooled identical 139s, Aguinaldo shot a 137, Tagaytay Highlands made a 134 while Orchard and Alabang scored 133 and 131, respectively, in the premier division of the event organized by Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.

Canlubang’s sweep likewise shoved the team from out of nowhere to joint second in the race to the WGAP Cup, where the top five teams after eight legs will vie for the crown in WGAP’s version of the Ryder Cup. Perennial champion Tagaytay Highlands leads the field with 22 points with Cangolf catching up with Alabang at second with 16 after gaining a bonus point for a rare sweep. Forest Hills has 14 points while Valley Golf is in fifth with 12. But Aguinaldo is just within a point with 11 while Orchard, Sta. Elena, Southwoods and Villamor have nine points apiece heading to the final leg at Sta. Elena on Oct. 13.

Melona Carida made 40 points, Rosita Laurel had a 39 and Terry Parala and Janette Leynes addd 38 and 37, respectively, as Cangolf ruled Class B with a 154, beating Valley (145) by nine points, Sta. Elena placed third with a 144 followed by Forest Hills (139), Aguinaldo (137), Tagaytay (136), Orchard (120), Alabang (119) and Riviera (90).

The host club capped its three-division romp by topping Class C with 152 as Minerva Awitan scored a 40, Mia Santos fired a 39, Charo Buencamino made a 38 and Debbie Schenk added a 35 for an eight-point victory over Tagaytay, which had a 144.

Villamor scored a 136 and nipped Sta. Elena (135) by just one point for third place honors while Alabang turned in a 132 followed by Forest Hills (126), Aguinaldo (112) and Orchard (80).

Orchard’s Tina Gonzales shot 41 points to cop the Class A individual crown while Maria So Young Lee of Forest Hills bagged the Class B plum with 46 points and Catherine Gabriel Borja of Tagaytay copped the Class C title with 38 points. The Highlanders also took the best in uniform honors.