The Manila Southwoods Invitational is set to kick off from March 13-16 at the Masters and Legends courses in Carmona, Cavite, featuring an impressive roster of 330 teams with 660 players hailing from diverse sectors such as business and sports.
The event is the host club’s flagship tournament, boasting a record-breaking participation this year.
The 36-hole member-guest tournament spread over four days drew 250 teams the last time. This year, Batch 1 will compete on March 13 and 15 while Batch 2 will take the stage on March 14 and 16.
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To ensure a balanced distribution of players on tournament days, sequential tee times are scheduled on both courses from 6 a.m. on March 13, 14 and 15. The final day will feature a shotgun start, also set at 6 a.m.
The competition will employ the Best Ball and Aggregate formats at the Masters and Legends courses, respectively, both using the Stableford Points scoring system with applied course handicaps.
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This year’s Southwoods Invitational also holds a special significance as it doubles as a celebratory event following the host club’s triumphant campaign in the recent PAL Interclub. The club secured its ninth championship in Cagayan de Oro, overcoming stiff competition from Eastridge.
Shinichi Suzuki is expected to defend the overall gross team championship, which he and partner Teruhisa Taguchi clinched last year.
Melchor Bacsa and Alexander Festejo are the defending overall net winners while the Renie Floro-Kazuo Murakami (Division I) and the Pablo Olivarez-Ronin Leviste (Division II) pairs led the category winners.