Canlubang reclaims PAL Interclub Seniors title

CEBU CITY—Canlubang regained the Philippine Airlines Interclub Seniors golf championship from Luisita with an emphatic 17-point victory Sunday behind an explosive final-round show by its mop-up crew led by Tommy Manotoc at Mactan Island Golf Club here.

The 65-year-old Manotoc reprised his old starring role in his return from a two-year-absence, chalking up 53 points as Canlubang piled up 139 for the day to finish with 543 overall and nail its eighth championship since ruling the 55-years-and-above event for the first time in 2006.

While Rollie Viray, who was not feeling well, did not count with an unlikely 37, the Sugar Barons sustained their strong finish with a 46 from Jose Mari Hechanova and a 40 from Bing Bunye.

Luisita, winner by two points last year, could amass only 125 with Francis Gaston, who was reduced to admiring the outstanding form of his flightmate Manotoc, scoring just 42 along with Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia.

A 41 by Pepot Iñigo rounded out the sputtering windup that left Luisita with just a 526 total.

“After what I have been through in terms of my health and other issues, I feel that this is God’s gift to me and I’m just so grateful that I am able to enjoy the game again,” said Manotoc, who begged off from playing for Canlubang in the last two years while serving as president of the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

With back-to-back birdies from the 14th, Manotoc seemed to have a sixth individual overall title in the bag until he closed bogey-bogey by missing the 17th and 18th greens.

He finished with a two-round total of 106 (53-53) like Luisita star Eddie Bagtas, but the former pro won the award with his better 18-hole score of 54, also at the Mactan course, in the first round.

Cebu Country Club, with Korean Kim Kwang-seok chalking up 49, wound up just three points behind Luisita at 523.