Runaway PAL Ladies triumph for Southwoods

DAVAO—Manila Southwoods-Masters refused to take it easy even with the title already in the bag and eventually topped the championship division of the revived sixth Philippine Airlines (PAL) Ladies Interclub Friday by 54 points over Del Monte at the Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club here.

Regine de Guzman shot four birdies to finish with a two-under-par 70 worth 56 points under the PAL scoring system, Sunshine Baraquiel added 51 and skipper Beachie Abiera had a 49 as Southwoods-Masters amassed a frontrunning 156 for the day for a 624 aggregate.

De Guzman went on to clinch the individual crown in Flight A, edging out Anya Tanpinco of Negros, 113-112.

“It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit,” said Abiera.

Del Monte tried to mount a charge behind Eva Miñoza, who chalked up an impressive 55 points for the Bukidnon-based squad. But Pam Mariano could score only a 47 and Apple Fudolin had a 45 as Del Monte settled for 147 and a 570 total.

Rainstar Roque, Del Monte’s 12-year-old teen wonder, captured the Flight B title with 89 points.

Alabang, the last winner of the championship division in the 1988 edition of the tournament, was also victorious, this time in the Founders Division.

After trailing Negros in the first 36 holes, the Alabang girls surged ahead in the third round with a 121 then added 128 in the final 18 on Anna Mendoza’s 47, Rita Horan’s 46 and Joan Morales’ 37 to finish with 491 overall.

Negros, which assembled 132-136 behind Tanpinco game in the first two rounds, managed just 96 and 105 in the last two rounds for a 469 total.

Southwoods made it a double celebration as its Legends team stamped its class in the Sportswriters Division with 425 points.

Host Rancho Palos Verdes (102-403) handily prevailed over Apo (92-355) for the Friendship Division title. Davao (83-333) was third followed by Victorias (101-325), Iloilo (73-308), Tagaytay Highlands (81-295), Japan (79-264), Malarayat (76-259) and Valley Golf North (77-230).

The scores:
Championship
Manila Southwoods 624 (154-160-154-156); Del Monte 570 (150-132-141-147-156).
Founders
Alabang 491 (121-121-121-128); Negros 469 (132-136-96-105); Riviera 425 (119-110-97-99); Valley Golf-South 414 (102-95-112-105); Cebu Country Club 103 (87-95-106-391); Mactan Island 371 (87-96-95-93).
Sportswriters
Manila Southwoods-Legends 425 (109-97-100-119); Eagle Ridge 395 (93-93-109-100); Bacolod 387 (97-89-100-101); Manila Golf 372 (91-69-105-107).
Friendship
Rancho Palos Verdes 403 (97-107-97-102); Apo 355 (91-88-84-92); Davao 333 (67-90-93-83); Victorias 325 (82-78-64-101); Iloilo 308 (68-83-84-73); Tagaytay Highlands 295 (71-66-77-81); Japan 264 (52-42-91-79); Mt. Malarayat 259 (52-80-51-76); Valley Golf-North 230 (47-55-51-77).