View 2005 tees off at Alta Vista

A series of firecracker blasts will officially signal the start of the View Invitational 2005 today with at least 250 players set to see action out of the over 500-player field at the par-72 Alta Vista Golf and Country Club.

The huge turn out of participants forced organizers to do a shotgun tee off so that all those interested to join the club's annual member-guest event can be accommodated.

The first group will tee off this 5:30 am while the second set will start playing at 11:30 am. Organizers are deploying marshals around the course to ensure the smooth flow of the tournament.

All participants are advised to be at the clubhouse not later than 30 minutes before their scheduled tee off to allow for travel time to the designated hole. The same schedule will be followed tomorrow, but on Saturday and Sunday, the first set tees off at 5:15 am and the second group at 11:15 am.

Each player will get a pair of Nike golf shoes of his choice from the various models that will be displayed at the club but depending on the availability of sizes and a Nike golf shirt.

There are also many hole-in-one prizes for the lucky golfers including three cars - an Audi A-4 from PGA Cars and Prudential Guarantee and Assurance Inc. and a Kia Picanto compact car and a Kia Sorento SUV courtesy of Columbian Auto Corporation.

Other hole-in-one prizes at stake for the 36-hole tournament are a Sta. Lucia lot, a Club Car golf cart from Turf Company, and a class A share from Aznar Bros. Realty, P100,000 from CICI General Insurance, an airline ticket to a foreign destination from Marist Holiday Travel and Tour, and a Yamaha motorcycle from Norkis Trading.

Nito's (Skygo) International is putting a Skygo motorcycle on line for an eagle on all par-4 holes. In case nobody scores an eagle, the motorcycle will be raffled off during the awards ceremony set at the Alta Vista poolside on Sunday.

The major sponsors are Globe Telecom and Taiyo Yuden (Phils.) Inc. alongside Alpa Oil Mill, which will also be giving away items to all participants.

The silver sponsors are APP-Trigon-CEI, Cebu Mitsumi Inc. and Lilly Industries.

The hole sponsors are Aviva-CGU International Insurance, Carlos A. Gothong Lines, Chateau de Busay, Direct Link Insurance, Federal Chemical Marketing Company Inc., Gillamac's Marketing Inc., Keppel Cebu Shipyard, More Classic, Nikku International Ltd. Co., Options Logistics Inc., Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Segye Nadri Travel and Tour Corp., Sulpicio Lines Inc., Treasure Island Industrial Corp., United Laboratories Inc., and Wealthbank. The other cash sponsors are Patricio Go of Metrobank, Julie's Bakeshop, Kaishu Seafood, Sunflower Village Development Inc., and Gen. Consul Ceferino L. Benedicto.

Sponsors in kind are Cebu Bionic Builders, Granstar Motors & Industrial Corp., International Pharmaceuticals Inc., Kaishu Seafood and Japanese Restaurant, Mack Mayer Publishing/Southwall Magazine, Max Water Trading, Premier Wines, Profood International Corp., Rudy Project, Selanah, Stocks R Us, Suarez Bros., VMC, and Y101. (NLQ)