Mactan Amateur Open

Cebu - After last week’s successful staging of the 28th Coral Invitational at the Cebu Country Club, the top players of Cebu are gearing up for the Mactan Amateur Open on January 29 and 30 at the Mactan Island Golf Club.

The tournament is open to all amateur golfers and will follow the strokeplay format for 36 holes. Only the gross strokes will be counted and there will be competition for the regular men’s event and the 55 years old and above seniors’ class.

Entry fee is pegged at P2,000 with the champions to receive trophies and gift certificates while the 2nd to tenth placers for both classes would also be receiving gift checks.

Retired General Rodante Joya, general manager of MIGC, told me last week that he envisions the event to be a premiere tournament that will soon draw not only the best of Cebu, but of the country and may some foreigners in the near future.

He said that this can be a joint effort of three clubs in Metro Cebu – MIGC, Alta Vista and Cebu Country Club.

I am very hopeful that this tournament will become a major event in the coming years. It seems that General Joya has already gotten the support of key officers of the other clubs here for a bigger event next year.

This event is for the top players, which means I’ll be happy to just watch at the sidelines and do my work as a sports journalist.

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If you haven’t been to the MIGC lately, you’d be surprised at the changes that the club has undergone the past several months.

The course used to be one of those that golfers would look down upon, but that is not the case now. The improvements are obvious and the participants of the Amateur Open would really have a good course to play at.

I hope that this will mean that Cebu can bid to host next year’s Philippine Airlines Interclub.

I was told that in 2010, the annual event would be coming back to Cebu and I surely am looking forward to staying home after traveling between Davao, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro the past several years.

I have already received an invitation for next month’s event in Davao from my good friend Jun Canton, who is chairman of the publicity committee of the PAL Interclub.

The different clubs of Cebu are also gearing up for the event according to my sources.

See you in Davao!

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday to my classmate and compadre William Sienes II of PLDT, who turns a year older today.

Belated greetings to golfer Peter Militante, Sarah Lei Spagnolo, Linaflor Aclan-Chan, and Mai-mai Durano-Sanchez, who all turned a year older yesterday.

More power to all of you! - THE FREEMAN