By NIMROD NL QUIÑONES
Cebu teams had a slow start in the 69th Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub in Mimosa Golf Club in Angeles City, Pampanga Wednesday.
Cebu Country Club is tied for third in the second-ranked Founders division while Club Filipino is tied for fourth in the fourth-ranked Sportswriters class. Alta Vista Golf and Country Club runs 9th in the third-ranked Aviator division while Mactan Island Golf Club at 16th spot in the same category.
In the premiere Championship category, Jobim Carlos showed that he is ready for the pro ranks after shooting three-under-par 39 points to lead Canlubang to a one-point lead over defending champion Manila Southwoods, 138-137.
The tournament requires a team to field five players, but only the four best scores in the Stableford or PAL Points System will count for the team total.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Carlos, who will be joining the pro ranks next week, fired six birdies but had three bogeys during the round. Alco counting for the team total were Aidric Chan 34, Marco Olives 33, and Abe Rosal 32. The 31 of Carl Corpus did not count.
For Manila Southwoods, Yuto Katsuragawa scored 38 points and national pool member Justin Quiban shot 37. Also counting was the 32 of Chepe Dulay and 30 of Jun Plana.
Orchard, winner of the title two years ago in Bacolod, tallied 125 and rounding up the top five are Del Monte with 124 and Luisita with 120.
FOUNDERS
Villamor took the lead in this category with an opening round of 119 points behind the 34 made by Gary Sales, 30 of Richard de los Santos, 28 of Army Colonel Antonio Bautista, Jr., and 27 of Jayjay Dinglasan.
Forest Hills is at second with 114 followed by Cebu Country Club and Socal Redhawk with 110 apiece.
Veteran player Ramontito Garcia led the Cebuanos with 30 points and was backed by JJ Alvarez with 29, Jovi Neri with 28, and Ferdinand Chua with 23. The 19 points of Miguel Martinez did not count.
Tagaytay Highlands is at fifth with 103 points.
AVIATOR
Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club went full ahead at the start of the tournament firing 121 points to lead this newly-formed division. JR Tanpingco led the team with 35 points. Also counting for the team were Jaime Yusay 31, Jimmy Feliciano 28, and Rico Cajili 27.
At second spot is Manila Golf with 115 followed by Wack Wack at 112 and Rancho Palos Verdes with 109. Fifth to eighth spots are Apo (108), Pueblo de Oro (108), Valley (108), and Zamboanga (107). Alta Vista fired 99 points and it at ninth.
Gabriel Yap led Alta Vista with 27 points while Alex Yeo added 26, Marvin Mendoza had 24 and rookie Dr. Jerry Uyheng shot 22. The 18 of Wendell Yap did not count.
Mactan made 85 points, which was good for 16th place. Col. Gerry Catindoy led the team with 26 points and also counting for the team total were Lt. Col Jeqs Jequinto with 21, Romeo Aguilon with 20, and Romano Castillon with 18. The 7 points of BGen Raymundo Elefante did not count.
SPORTSWRITERS
Phil. Navy set the pace for this group with 104 points. At second is Sarangani with 91 followed by /sta. Elena with 88.
Flub Filipino Incorporada de Cebu and Camp John Hay each fired 80 points and are tied for fourth.
Club Filipino was led by Baltaire Balangauan with 23 points while Evans Tumaliwan added 21, Razy Razon made 19, and Dominic Gotiong shot 17. The 11 of Peter Militante did not count.
The Interclub is sponsored by People Asia, Travelife, Mareco Broadcasting Network (Crossover), Manila Broadcasting Corporation, Airbus, Business Mirror and Philippine National Bank.
Other supporters are Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inquirer.net, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, Tanduay Distillers, Asia Brewery, Splash Corporation, RFM Corporation, Goldilocks, Eastgate Publishing Corporation, Robinsons Land, TMC, Mastercard, Hytera and Rolls-Royce.
