COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Philippine tandem of Ivan Ferreras and Sammy Sy fired a net 71 and finished a shot behind the champion South Korean team in the recent 9th Jack Nicklaus International Invitational (JNII) finals at Scioto Country Club here, where a young Nicklaus first learned the game.
Ferreras and Sy, the country’s representatives to the annual tournament hosted by the player known as the “Golden Bear,” beat the Indonesian and South African teams to second place by a shot.
Known as the Tournament of Champions, the JNII international finals, sponsored by Jack Nicklaus Apparel, brought together the winners of all JNII national tournaments around the world.
Koreans Cheon Il-song and Byung Muk-yoon played the back nine at 3-under-par and pipped Ferrera and Sy with a 70.
Indonesia’s Andrey Atmadji and Sugianto shared third with South Africa’s Andrew Morgan and Santosh Maharaj.
“It was an experience unlike any other,” said Ferreras. “One of the highlights of being in the tournament was meeting friends who love the sport as much as we do.”
Sy said the highlight was meeting Nicklaus, golf’s all-time leader in Grand Slam victories with 18.
“It was all about meeting Jack and getting to see the pros play golf at the Memorial Tournament,” said Sy. “It will be a moment we will never forget.”
This year’s festivities at the Tournament of Champions began with the Champions Dinner at the Jack Nicklaus Museum on the campus of Ohio State University where each of the players were awarded the Golden Bear Champions Blazer.