CEBU—Cebu Country Club came up with the perfect final round to a dominant week yesterday and joined the company of elite teams that have repeated as champions in the PAL Interclub men’s tournament here.
With Mark Dy shooting a two-under-par 70 worth 38 points and the next three scorers accounting for 30 or better, the Cebuanos put an exclamation point to a coast-to-coast triumph with a closing 132 for a 16-point victory over up-and-coming Alabang.
“I don’t know about dynasties, we’re not even looking at that. But this is sweet—back-to-back for the first time,” skipper Ramontito Garcia, who fired a 31, said after the celebration had subsided in the hosts’ posh clubhouse.
“This marks the start of a new era in PAL golf,” Garcia said of the Cebuanos, who also got 33 points from Marko Sarmiento and 30 from Eric Deen to finish with a 507 total.
The Cebuanos, who swept ahead by nine with a 125 on Friday, were so efficient on their home course that the 28 of Gen Nagai was thrown out.
Alabang gave valiant chase behind Filipino-German teen Keanu Jahns, who conquered the Cebu Country Club course here for the second straight time, shooting a 68 worth 40 points as the Muntinlupa-based squad amassed 125 for the day and 491 aggregate.
Jama Reyes scored 31 points, Gabriel Manotoc accounted for 28 and AR Ramos counted last with a 26 as Alabang finished six up on 2011 champion Del Monte.
Garcia said that he is excited about the rivalry that is shaping up between Cebu CC and Alabang, clubs that have been fielding in full-pledged members.
“They are young and talented, and if they get full support from their club, they will be a very formidable team in the years to come,” Garcia said of Alabang, whose players came here even without the full support of its club’s board.
“The rivalry would be nice, because they (Alabang) kept us on our toes,” Garcia said. “It just came as a surprise to me that their club did not fully support them. We support our players fully because they’re the pride of our club.”
The 31-year-old Dy, who will try to qualify to the ICTSI Tour at Splendido in Tagaytay next week, had four birdies, including back-to-back from No. 15, and two three-putt bogeys, to make up for a horrid first day and failing to count at Mactan Island Golf Club on Wednesday.
Jahns, who sealed a spot in the Philippine team with his performances here, had six birdies and played Cebu CC at seven-under 137. Laurence Cubillo amassed 34 points and Reymon Jaraulla had 31 to pace Del Monte’s 121.
Orchard also tallied 132 points behind Wolen Superal and former pro Raymund Sangil at the Country Club to win the Founders division title pulling away from Negros and Southwoods.
The PAL Interclub is being sponsored by the Department of Tourism, 105.1 Crossover, Solar Sports, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, 92.3 FM Radyo 5, Araneta Coliseum and AXN. Major sponsors are Airbus, Manila Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine Broadcasting Network, People Asia, Radio Mindanao Network, Business Mirror and ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel (TFC). Corporate sponsors include Radisson Blu Hotel, Shangri-La Resort & Spa, Boeing, Inquirer Golf Magazine, Philippines Graphic and Manila Bulletin.
The final round scores
FOUNDERS: 472-Orchard 114-118-108-132, 457-Negros 103-130-99-125; 451-Southwoods 105-123-109-114, 442- Valley Golf 100-120-101-121; 431-Wack Wack 99-115-96-121; 425- Forest Hills 100-111-104-110; 417-Alta Vista 100-109-93-115; 415-Villamor 102-105-93-114, 400-Apo 103-106-95-96; 397-Palos Verdes 92-116-89-100; 387-Riviera 93-93-100-101, 377-Manila Golf 93-107-85-92, 375-Eagle Ridge 103-92-87-93; 367-Tagaytay 90-111-65-101; 363 Iligan 84-98-97-84
FRIENDSHIP: 299-Filam Hawaii 87-85-58-69; 278-SFO Crystal Springs 56-61-86-75; 273-Pittsburg 68-73-75-57; 271-North Gate 71-67-63-71; 262-Figme 70-60-68-64, Mabuhay SFO 80-55-58-69, Mt Malindang 53-64-62-83; 256-Gren Tee 60-61-76-59; 244-Cotabato 67-65-61-51; 216-Skywest 54-44-61-57; 148-Moffet Field 44-41-63-DQ
CHAMPIONSHIP: 507-Cebu 120-130-125-132; 491- Alabang 116-128-122-125; 485 – Del Monte 119-128-117-121; 383-Sta Elena 97-102-79-105; 292-Pearl Kai Hawaii 70-78-62-82; 287-Greenhills West 68-72-44-103; 255-Leyte 50-96-47-62; 249-Brotherhood 57-57-62-73; 235-SFO Heritage 47-68-51-69; 228-Vancouver Golf 58-66-39-65; 220-FilOz Sydney 50-60-47-63
SPORTSWRITERS: 400-Club Filipino 99-100-99-102; 385-Zamboanga 108-83-99-95; 376-Mactan 102-84-84-106; 374-Saranggani 103-87-98-86; 369-Bay Area 94-85-98-92; 361-Camp John Hay 92-83-109-77; 357-Lumbia 85-84-94-94; 350-Camp Evangelista 90-72-96-92; 349-Stanford 86-68-98-97; 347-Red Hawk 101-64-96-84; 338-Phil Navy 85-77-95-81; 337-Iloilo 81-82-94-80; 334-Sherwood Hills 85-83-90-76; 332 Pueblo DeOro 83-74-95-80; 330-Maharlika 84-82-84-80; 329-FilAm Fairfield 83-71-90-85; 328-FGA1 Riyadh 86-64-86-92; 326-PGA BC 89-75-85-77; 312-Victorias 68-59-96-89