New breed of golfers back Highlands Ladies

MANILA, Philippines-A roster of mother-daughter tandems will be on hand when the Highlands Ladies Cup takes place on Saturday at Tagaytay Midlands and Lucky 9 courses, not as competitors but as part of the workforce helping guarantee the successful conduct of the posh club’s flagship tournament.

These pairs actually make up the Tagaytay Ladies team, which has produced such winning twosomes since the squad was formed 18 years ago, including Marixi Prieto and Sandy Prieto-Romualdez of Inquirer, with dermatologist Lilibeth de Villa’s daughters – Linnel, Debbie and Angela – anchoring Highlands’ title runs in the WGAP (Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines) Circuit, WGAP Cup and Ladies Federation Games.

De Villa’s eldest daughter Lilet, businesswoman/artist Mathilda Sun and Jessalynn Tan’s respective daughters Kathleen and Patricia, who recently graduated from the Univ. of Edinburgh, Scotland, are all set to join one of the country’s winningest ladies golf squads.

Sisters Chesca and Tara Imperial have mirrored their mother Farah’s golfing prowess, while cousin Kyla Laurel, who is also into college softball, is in the same league of this new breed of young women golfers ready to take center stage when the WGAP circuit and other club tournaments resume.

Meanwhile, Belle Corp.’s Willy Ocier, Rosalind Wee of W Group of Companies, and Sandy Romualdez will hit the ceremonial drive on Saturday, kicking off the milestone 15th staging of the 18-hole fun but competitive tournament backed by Diamond sponsors W Group, Inc., CWC Int’l. Corp., Agrikulture and Ocier.

Jackie Kawsek, on the other hand, said her long game has been complementing well with mom Mabek’s short game, making them a tough pair to handle, while Regent Travel’s Connie Mamaril had played with daughter Kristel before the latter left for Florida as a sports therapist.

A few years before golfer-turned-scuba diver Hedy See suffered back injuries, daughter Hannah also suited up for the team in various club tournaments

Meanwhile, the team will soon parade a grand mom-granddaughter pair as Dionne Cu and 15-year-old Katie Cu Yaw while Cathy Borja and Gabby, also 15, have been hoisting trophies in several tournaments.