By NIMROD NL QUINONES
www.fullpointcebu.com
A jam-packed field of 200 players with several still hoping to make it on tournament day are teeing off Friday in the Phoenix Premium 98 Golf Open Tournament at the par-72 Cebu Country Club.
The tournament, which incorporates golf with fun and games, drew a huge turnout this year compared to the previous staging.
Liloh Evangelista, the tournament director, said that she originally expected only about 120 players, but was surprised when several wanted in and she later was forced to stretch the field to a maximum of 200 players.
“I wanted to accommodate more, but we cannot exceed 200 due to the limitations on the giveaways,” said Evangelista.
She added, “Several are still waiting and hoping for those who will back out on the last minute so they could join.”
The tournament will use the Modified Stableford Scoring System and the April 2017 handicaps will apply. Entry fee has been pegged at Php 5,000.
Each participant is entitled to join both the individual and the two-man team event. For the two-man event, the scores of the two players will be simply added to get the team score.
Each participant will receive a Nike Victory polo shirt, a cap, a Phoenix signature umbrella, and a JBL Clip2 bluetooth speaker by Harman Kardon.
On top of that, the players are also entitled to various minor and major raffle items during the awards ceremony on Friday evening at the CCC ballroom.
At stake in the tournament will be prizes for the overall best gross and best net as well as the best gross and runner-up and best net and runner-up for each of the four handicap categories.
The top three teams will also get prizes in the two-man event.
Evangelista said that they imported pewter trophies from Royal Selangor in Malaysia for the winners.
The maximum handicap for the event is 27 and those who cannot submit club certified handicaps, if not part of the Unified National Handicapping System (UNHS), will play with zero.
At stake for an ace will be a Harley Davidson 1200 custom, a Tata Manza, and Php 100,000 worth of fuel on the designated Phoenix Hole.
At the designated Premium 98 hole, the prizes for an ace are Php 1 million cash, a Tata Manza, and Php 100,000 worth of fuel.
There will also be prizes for nearest the pin, longest drive, and nearest the center line on designated holes. Winners will get a Phoenix custom golf bag, 8 liters of Phoenix Accelerate Extreme lubricant, and Php 3,000 worth of fuel.
Those who will make an eagle on any par-5 hole will get a Phoenix Boston bag, 4 liters of Phoenix Accelerate Extreme lubricant, and Php 1,000 worth of fuel.
Lots of merchandise from the sponsoring fuel company will also be given away at the fun games of the many designated holes.
Participants will also get treated to free food and drinks at the different tee houses.
