“Winning in the Pal Interclub is a team effort with every player putting in his best. This is seen in the close results in each division and the lead changes on each competition day.”
by Ducky Paredes
The 62nd PAL Interclub is happening at two golf courses – Rancho Palos Verdes in Buhangin and Apo Golf and Country Club in Toril both in Davao City, among the largest in area of the world’s cities. They are both 18 – hole Championship golf courses. (A third Davao Course is the nine-hole but interesting Davao Golf Club in Lanang. Another is under construction and could be ready by 2013.)
The interclub is divided into two competitions – the Senior Tournament is just in its 22nd year; while the regular tournament (all are men only) is on its 62nd year. The regular is among the oldest and longest-running amateur international tournament in the world. It is played under the Stableford system of scoring using PAL Molave points – three points for a par, two for a bogey and one for a double bogey and four for a birdie, five for an eagle and six for an albatross (two strokes on a par five). Thus, a par game – a 72 on a par 72 course – nets 54 (three points on 18 holes).
To win, a team needs at least six players. Competition is over four days with each player competing in two games. Four players play with the three best scores counted. Thus, to win, the six scores counted for the team must beat the rest of the field. There are four levels of play – Friendship, Sportswriters, Founder and Championship. A team advances to the next higher level by winning in the lower class.
Winning in the Pal Interclub is a team effort with every player putting in his best. This is seen in the close results in each division and the lead changes on each competition day.
In the just concluded Seniors Tournament, for the Championship, Canlubang again bested Luisita by seven points. While Tommy Manotoc was hailed as the chief engineer of the Canlubang rally which overcame Luisita’s first day lead, cutting this to only five by the second day, leading by one at the end of the third day and finally winning by 7, clearly, no one could have done this by his lonesome. For instance, after losing to Luisita by 18 on the first day (158-140), Canlubang took back 13 points on the second day. While Tommy contributed 55, Bing Bunye also gave 43 and Luigi Yulo 44 for 142 to beat Luisita’s 129. On the third day, Tommy did not play and it was up to Jose Mari Hechanova, Dave Hernandez and Tony Olives who all had 51s that beat Luisita (153 to 147) to take the lead by one. The clean-up on day 4 had Tommy with 50, Rolly Viray with 49 and Luigi Yulo for 47 to win the day (146 to 139. Thus, it has to be a team effort with all players pulling for the team.
The two Davao Courses are interesting but not overly long. Palos Verde is an Andy Dye designed 7,039 yards from the black tees. According to the course description: “The signature hole is the 408 yard par 4 # 13 with its treacherous island green. The club maintains a crocodile pit with real crocodiles for golfers foolish enough to go for their golf balls after errant shots on the 251 yard par 3 Hole # 2″.
Apo Golf and Country Club, is at 7,001 yards, par 72. Most of the holes have huge and flat greens with well-maintained sand traps and water hazards. The Apo greens are tricky and harder to putt. Designed and built by Pinoys (H. R. Lopez as the main contractor with the greens done by a certain Sanchez, who also did the greens at Del Monte in Bukidnon and several other courses). Apo is the tougher course of the two but is still a joy to play, except when one finds a water hazard that he did not see from the tee. One wants to keep coming back trying to tame Apo. This older course uses the local Carabao grass which is easier to maintain than imported grasses and which lasts forever and is hardly ever replanted. (In the rest of Asia, the variety is called Elephant Grass.)
According to Atty. Domingo Duerme, Chairman of the PAL Interclub, the tournament could someday return to Cebu where it used to be a mainstay. One course in Cebu – the Mactan Course is bidding to have the tournament go back to the province. Two courses in one location are needed, however, for the tournament to be held with its 1,500 to 1,800 participants.
All in all, being in the PAL interclub is a good experience even for us Media golfers. We play in between the two tournaments – the senior and the regular – with a game in Apo last Monday and another in Palos Verdes today. The games may not have been in the class of Tommy Manotoc’s but it was still a lot of fun for us.
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We are told that the team to watch in the regular tournament beginning tomorrow is the new entrant — The Country Club, the ultra-exclusive golf course in the same area as Canlubang. TCC has recruited what is basically the first team of Philippine golf composed of our top amateurs — Ferdie Aunzo, Rufino Bayron, Tonlits Asistio, Peter Villaber, Art Arbole, JR Tanpinco, Joey Huerva, Anthony Fernando and Dante Beciera. The old-timers discount the team by pointing out that they are all young and, basically, have no experience playing in the PAL Interclub.
The competiton is expected to be among Manila Southwoods, the winner last year, Canlubang and The Country Club.
One wonders if having had prior PAL Interclub experience actually matters; or is just having a plain good golf game enough to win. That’s what we will be finding out in the next four days.
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hvp 02.23.09)
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