Jun Jun Plana and Marty Ilagan playing as seniors for the first time is generating a lot of buzz a day before the 74th Philippine Airline (PAL) Interclub gets going in the Queen City of the South.
Plana, because he will abandon his usual anchor’s role for Manila Southwoods’ regular men’s team to be the spearhead of its Senior squad for the first time, and Ilagan, for being a Southwoods member who will play for Luisita to boost an already formidable program.
“I am a Tarlac native,” Ilagan told the Inquirer over the phone with a slight laugh when asked why he chose to play for Luisita. “It is in Tarlac where I learned to play golf.”
All eyes will be on them as their respective squads try to unseat Canlubang, a team that did nothing to its roster and will instead lean on the usual reliables—the ageless Tommy Manotoc, Abe Rosal and Rolly Viray.
“They are worth watching definitely,” Manotoc said in a separate interview. “It’s because they can overpower golf courses because of their length—the tournament using forward tees, after all.”
Ronnie Littaua is also an ex-regular men’s player for Forest Hills who joined Luisita, which graduated former pro Eddie Bagtas in favor of younger blood.
A fourth notable rookie is Carl Almario, another ex-pro who provided a lot of firepower for a couple of Cebu Country Club champion teams in the men’s division before the pandemic.
“I have no expectations on how I will play,” Ilagan added. “All I can say is that I will do everything I can to help my team win.”
Luisita’s last championship also came in Cebu when the event was played at Alta Vista and Club Filipino. INQ