Luisita team members are all smiles after the win. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CEBU—A quartet envisioned to play the final round as early as three months ago responded to the challenge on a humid Saturday as Luisita reclaimed its old throne and is looking at a longer reign in the Philippine Airlines (PAL) Seniors Interclub’s Championship division.
With ex-pro Dan Cruz birdieing his last three holes to sign for a level-par 72 worth 54 points at Alta Vista and Chino Raymundo accounting for 51, Luisita closed out with 151 for a 572 total, restoring order to a centerpiece division race that Founders campaigner Cebu Country Club threatened to gate-crash.
“It all worked out well,” Luisita nonplaying skipper Jeric Hechanova said after the last score—Steve McDonald’s 46 points—was counted. “That’s the final day lineup that I have had in mind as early as three months ago. It delivered.”
Stronger next year
Hechanova later said that the team is bound to lose one stalwart but will have a new entry in the 55-and-above ranks that will make the team stronger.“For sure, the core will stay,” he said but refused to name the new guy. “But we are set to welcome a new member who will start with us next year.”
Damasus Wong delivered 53 points, Mari Hechanova accounted for 50 and Abe Avena had 49 for the Canlubang Sugar Barons, who had a final day 152 but fell short of the crown, with Manila Southwoods, an emerging force in its Seniors debut, missing a second place tie after a 148.
Jun Jun Plana and Theody Pascual had 54 and 49 points, respectively, and the Carmona-based club counted the 45 of Joseph Tambunting as Southwoods made a more-than respectable representation in playing the Senior division for the first time.
Regular Men’s action for the 74th year with the theme “Back to Ignite” will start on Wednesday with Southwoods fielding a powerhouse cast led by a couple of Philippine Team veterans.Cebu Country Club, the ultra-exclusive, traditional layout here, and Club Filipino in Danao, which also hosted the Seniors event, will be the sites of the 72-hole championship.