Rain mars View Invitational

Heavy rain forced organizers of the View Invitational 2005 to change the format of the event from 36 holes to the best 18 holes after the second set of players scheduled to tee off yesterday could not start playing at the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club in Pardo, this city.

A heavy downpour starting at late morning yesterday, just minutes after the first set completed their round, left the players scheduled to tee off at 11:30 am wet and waiting for word about their fate.

After the 12:30 pm deadline set by the organizers, they decided to call off the afternoon schedule and declare the change in the tournament rules.

This is not the first time in the View Invitational that the organizers have changed the format to the best 18 holes from 36 holes due to inclement weather.

Organizers are also trying to set up a round of golf for those who were not able to tee off yesterday afternoon to give them an equal chance as the other participants for the hole-in-one prizes, but this can only be finalized with the consent of the insurer.

As of presstime, there has been no confirmation yet whether this can be done.

An official announcement about this will be made as soon as there will be a decision from the insurance company, said Oly Dychangco, the club president.

With the hopes of a much better weather today, the first set is scheduled to tee off at 5:15 am while the second group will tee off at 11:15 am.

Today's players are those who played their first round last Thursday.

One more thing that players are hoping for today and tomorrow are friendlier pin placements.

No player has yet scored a hole-in-one as of yesterday and there was nobody reported to have scored an eagle yet on a par-4 hole.

The 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, an all-terrain vehicle from Granstar Motors, 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 tomorrow evening. Exciting surprises also await the participants during the awards ceremonies including special gimmicks that have not yet been done at the club before.

The major sponsors of this year's event 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., Suplicio 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)