Matches fire off, South aces picked
THE ROCK-SOLID South squad has the edge on paper and will look to translate that into victories today when it clashes with the North side in The Duel 3—North vs South, a Ryder Cup-style event featuring the country’s best pros that gets going today at Cebu Country Club.
Fielding will be the key in the four-ball (best ball) matches starting at 8 a.m. before the foursomes (alternate shot) are played in the afternoon.
The formats switch tomorrow before the much-anticipated singles matches on Friday.
South skipper Jerome Delariarte has a well of talent at his disposal as the likes of Antonio Lascuña, Elmer Salvador, Cassius Casas, Jonel Ababa and the ageless Frankie Miñoza spearhead the squad.
They will be out to erase bitter memories of a huge collapse in the singles last year that allowed the North to pull off a come-from-behind victory.
“We need a strong start, and with luck on our side, we have a very good chance of taking it (the title) back,” said Delariarte, whose bid for a repeat last year was not helped at all by the temperamental Juvic Pagunsan, who refused to play in the singles.
“Everyone says we have the strong team but anything can happen in this format of team match play, and last year’s loss is the evidence of that,” added Delariarte, who reportedly even went to Pagunsan’s home before tee-off to convince his star to play.
The North overhauled a huge deficit in the singles and won, 14.5-13.5, at Alabang. Angelo Que and the rest of North gang will be hoping to duplicate that with a lineup that is no pushover by any means.
Miguel Tabuena, coming off a respectable stint in the Philippine Open, joins Que as spearheads of the North with support to come from Carl Santos-Ocampo, Michael Bibat and the veteran Mars Pucay.
Edward Reyes, Gerald Rosales, Benjie Magada, Jun Bernis, Randy Garalde, James Ryan Lam and Jun Rates complete the North squad.
Event backers: Nike Golf, Pacsports, Srixon, Callaway, Sharp, FootJoy, Mizuno, Callaway and Custom Clubmakers. Media partners: Inquirer Golf, Balls, and ABS-CBN Sports+Action.
