Asian Ladies team golf blasts off at John Hay

Armed force of the Philippines Golf Club (formerly Aguinaldo GC) opens its campaign for a second straight championship as it leads the cast in the eighth Asian Ladies Team Golf Championship beginning today at the Camp John Hay Golf Club in Baguio City.

The AFPGC squad, behind Josie Untal, Matet Salivio, Karen Kime and Bianca Pagdanganan, dominated last year’s staging of the event, posting a 21-point romp over Manila Southwoods’ Masters team in the premier Group I category.

Southwoods 1, along with Tagaytay Highlands 1, Forest Hills Nicklaus, and the host club, stand in the way of AFPGC’s bid for a repeat at the par-69 course.

Fourteen teams are seeing action in the 54-hole tournament, a four-to-play, three-to-count format team event which will be scored using the Molave system.

They include three teams from John Hay, two each from Alabang, Tagaytay Highlands and Manila Southwoods, and Forest Hills Carlos, Forest Hills Nicklaus, Forest Hills Palmer and Baguio CC.

The Group II title chase will be a tossup among Alabang I, Southwoods 2, CJH 2 and Forest Hills Palmer. BCC will try to defend its Group III crown against CJH 3, Highlands 2, Forest Hills Carlos and Alabang 2.