Barons win PAL golf pulling away

BACOLOD , Philippines  - Winning, it seems, has become a habit for Canlubang. ICTSI-Cangolf strode to PAL Interclub history in smashing fashion, closing out with a tournament-best 141 and beating ICTSI-The Country Club with a lopsided 22-point victory for its fifth straight championship in the centerpiece men’s division at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club course here yesterday.

“If you want to call it a dynasty, then we will do it as long as we are able to do it,” said Cangolf skipper Luigi Yulo as he gathered his wards and staff on the practice green under sweltering heat after the Sugar Barons completed the clinical rout of their neighboring rivals.

It was Cangolf’s 17th Interclub crown, the most by any club, and 11th victory in the last 16 stagings of the event in a run that started with a three-peat feat from 1994 before stringing up four straights wins from 2000.

The victory was special for the Sugar Barons, who fell short of their double five-peat bid after their seniors team bowed to Luisita in their own side of the duel last week.

The Barons, who virtually clinched the crown with a solid third round performance at Binitin where they took an 11-point lead, played like they were the ones trailing.

Mhark Fernando dominated pro-bound Rufino Bayron with a kind of game rarely seen in the ranks and the rest of the team took the best their neighboring rivals could offer and proved again they’re better.

Fernando, the reigning national champion, fired a sterling five-under 65 card in stroke play worth 41 points. He completely outclassed Bayron in the final flight on a hot afternoon, capping his brilliant round of six birdies against a bogey with a long par putt on the 18th.

Jobim Carlos, a former member of the TCC team, showed he belonged to the champion Cangolf squad as he backed up Fernando with 35 points.

Alvin Engino, who helped carry the team to the lead in the first round here with 37 points, slowed down with 34 while Paul Echavez had 31 for Cangolf’s 141.

Counting their 403 total after three rounds, the Sugar Barons wound up with a 544 aggregate, turning what had seemed to be a down-to-the-wire finish between two clubs with the same backer into a terrible 22-point rout, one of the most lopsided triumphs in the main event in years, according to tournament official Buddy Resurreccion.

TCC, which blew a two-point lead – and the title - with a forgettable third round stint, ended up with a 130 with local bet JR Tanpinco carding 35 points, Antonio Asistio II 34, and Peter Villaber 31 and Rufino Bayron 30.

It took Bayron a birdie on the 18th to be included in the TCC scorecard, scratching the 29 of Erwin Madrileno, the same output of Abe Rosal that failed to count for Canlubang.

TCC had a 522 aggregate, beaten for the second straight year by the team it had wished to topple with a star-studded crew last year.

And like the first time out, they came out of the tournament frustrated. But this one will rankle in the months or years to come since TCC had thought of finally coming up with the right mix against Canlubang’s combination of experience and youth that included a couple of TCC’s former players.

In fact, Yulo cited the contribution of Carlos and Art Arbole to the team’s five-peat feat. Carlos also counted for the team with a 32 in the first round while Arbole tossed in 31 and 34 points at Binitin.

With a steady flow of talents, best represented by grade schooler Ruperto Zaragoza III, Canlubang, with former spearhead Tommy Manotoc at the helm, is indeed capable of extending its domination of the annual event long regarded as the national golf team championship.

Zaragoza, a 12-year-old sixth grader, proved his worth in a man’s game, bouncing back from an awful 11-over 81 with a one-over 71 worth 35 points that anchored Cangolf’s decisive third round assault.

Other Cangolf members were Joey Huerva, who scored 33 points in the second round at Binitin, and Jessie Balasabas, who had 30 and 35 points, also at Binitin.

For skipper Freddie Mendoza, TCC lost it in the third round. “When we played bad in the third round, they (Sugar Barons) played their A-game. So that’s it,” said Mendoza.

“Actually, we were trying to catch in the first seven holes (in the final round) but they faltered one after the other.”

Unlike its counterpart, TCC failed to draw the best from its crack squad, which included former Hong Kong Am champion Dante Becierra (31 and 25) and former national team members Bayron (34-30) and Villaber (34-31) and its rookies Alexis Nallos (31-25), Erwin Madrileno (28-29) and Dino Villanueva (25-29).

TCC, however, got something from rookie Fil-Am Carl Ocampo (35-34) and Zanie Boy Gialon (30-37) and steady games from Tanpinco (35-35) and Asistio (38-34).

Alabang came through with 104 and finished a far third with a 416 followed by Mt. Malarayat (99-365) and Sherwood Hills (77-356).

The event is presented by platinum sponsors Airbus, Boeing, 105.1 Crossover and Radio Mindanao Network. Major sponsors are Action Asia, GE Aviation, MTV Philippines, People Asia and Royal Caribbean. The corporate backers are Business Mirror, Philippine Graphic, www.philstar.com, Sabre Airline Solutions/Sabre Travel Network and Resort World Manila. Century Park Hotel, DWWW 774 AM, Panay News, Master Card and Thales Aerospace are minor sponsors.

Meanwhile, Del Monte, behind Korean Jun Sub Park’s 36 points and Noel Langamin’s 35, rallied with a 128 to snatch the Founders Division crown with a 473, snatching a four-shot win over erstwhile leader Manila Southwoods.

 which sputtered with a 117 for a 469.

Final scores:

Championship - Canlubang 544 (137-129-137-141), TCC 522 (134-134-124-130), Alabang 416 (107-110-95-104), Mt. Malarayat 365 (85-76-105-99), Sherwood Hills 356 (75-98-106-77), Victorias 308 (65-83-66-94), EZ Par 297 (93-58-86-60), Green Tee 284 (77-77-72-58), Pittsburg 254 (55-60-70-69), South Cotabato 245 (61-60-67-57), Mabuhay Golf 222 (52-64-51-55), Moffet Fields 216 (73-68-31-44), San Diego 129 (52-24-53-0)

Founders - Del Monte 473 (117-120-108-128), Manila Southwoods 469 (108-134-110-117), Cebu CC 466 (117-116-107-126), Negros GCC 461 (109-127-112-113), Sta. Elena 458 (119-109-100-130), Mactan Island 437 (103-113-102-119), Forest Hills 424 (93-101-102-128), Riviera 422 (101-105-93-123), Villamor 415 (92-104-104-115), Wack Wack 410 (114-88-100-108), Orchard 408 (97-100-95-116), Alta Vista 394 (87-95-100-112)