Gialon-Manotoc banners Caliraya Pro-Am field

A number of the country’s top pros, including the man who romped off with the first-ever big tournament held at Caliraya Springs Golf Club, will be headlining the first Sambalilo Pro-Am slated Aug. 5 and Aug. 6 in Cavinti, Laguna.

Zannie Boy Gialon will be headlining a big number of two-man teams seeing action in the P500,000 event, as he has personally handpicked national team player Gab Manotoc as his amateur partner to form one of the most formidable tandems in the 36-hole event that will use the scramble format in round one and four-ball play in the next.

Gialon won the P2.5-million ICTSI Caliraya Springs Invitational by four shots over Clyde Mondilla last April, as it was evident that he was the best in reading the undulating greens that week. He snapped a five-year title drought with that win.

Michael Bibat and Antonio Lascuña, who disputed the Aoki crown in down-the-wire style two weeks back, are the other notables in the field together with former Philippine Open champion Gerald Rosales and many-time national champion Rupert Zaragosa.

The event is being held in conjunction with the celebration of the Sambalilo Festival, one of the most colorful festivals in Laguna which fetes the handmade sumbrero (hat) made from pandan leaves and is a huge source of income for some of the families in the province. INQ