CEBU, Philippines – Abby Olea did not need so many holes to snare the girls’ club championship of Cebu Country Club last week.
In fact, Olea needed only 20 holes to complete the matchplay event and claim the title.
She beat Eva Gamallo 10-up with 8 holes to go in the semifinals and then coasted to a 9 and 8 victory over 10-year-old Lois Kaye ‘LK’ Go in the final to clinch the championship.
What was even more remarkable was how Olea halved only one hole in the 20-hole stretch.
Olea’s win was reported by junior golf committee chairman Jovi Neri over cccjungolf.multiply.com.
Neri said in his blog that Olea, 13, has won back-to-back junior girls’ club titles and could wrap up four more until she is disqualified by the time she reaches 18 years old.
He however said that the next few years would not however be as easy as LK Go, who has showed a lot of promise, poses as a major championship threat.
The round of 16 for the annual CCC club championships was played yesterday and this will be followed by the quarterfinals and the semis then the 36-hole finale, which is set on Saturday.
Neri told The Freeman yesterday that junior club champion Lloyd Jefferson ‘LJ’ Go, LK’s elder brother, is through to the quarterfinals after beating Jufil Sato.
LJ Go is set to face Jovy Manglapus in the last eight. Manglapus scored a huge upset yesterday by beating multi-club champion Carl Almario. – NLQ (THE FREEMAN)