Manila S’woods sans Pauline, Abby to defend Pal interclub title

Manila Southwoods-Masters will be trying to extend its historic reign in the PAL Ladies Interclub this week in Cebu where a third force in newcomer Pradera Verde looms.

With Pauline del Rosario turning pro earlier in the year and Abegail Arevalo in the United States, some of the faces that have played as back-ups to them in the past will be placed in the spotlight starting Tuesday at tree-lined Cebu Country Club.

Del Rosario and Arevalo won individual titles during the Carmona-based squad’s six-year reign, and in order to make it seven-in-a-row, the likes of Sofia Chabon and Mika Fortuna will have to step up big time.

Cebu CC, as usual, has been tipped as the biggest threat to SW-Masters, but the entry of Pradera has suddenly made the chase for the centerpiece Championship Division crown a three-cornered race.

Yuka Saso, the Fil-Japanese teener who has anchored several Philippine teams, will be Pradera’s main gun in Cebu.

The team coached by Norman Sto. Domingo is built to win—and win for a long time— with its very young core that counts 13-year-old Annyka Cayabyab, Kyla Nocum and Tomita Arejola.

Sto. Domingo’s oldest player is 18-year-old Michela Effendie, and keeping this team together playing in a high-caliber event will only make this team formidable in the coming years.

SW-Masters has been preparing for this for the past several months, with the players gathering on a regular basis to train at the club’s two world-class courses.

“They are very determined, very focused,” Southwoods golf director and former pro Jerome Delariarte said. “The players know that this could be the toughest year for them, because the field has gotten stronger.”

Cebu CC will come into the 72-hole event with a distinct advantage: Thorough knowledge of the age-old layout.