Revenge golf

When Tiger Woods beat Yang Yong-Eun last Monday at Harding Park in San Francisco, he played what I call “revenge golf.” 

Woods and his four-ball partner Steve Stricker finished off Yang and Ryo Ishikawa 4-2 to give the US a slim lead going into the final round of the Presidents Cup. Then in the last round, Woods routed Yang 6-5 in their singles match to give the Americans their sixth title.

Tiger’s triumphs avenged his loss to Yang in the last PGA Championship. To rehash, Yang ended Wood’s invincibility, when leading a tournament, with a three-stroke victory.

Woods sputtered in that PGA final round match. This time Tiger was perfect, going 5-for-5, in all his matches.

Woods trailed Yang early in Harding Park but made a string of birdies to get back into the game. In the 13th, Woods hit from the trees to set-up the winning birdie.

“He got me there (PGA Championship), and I figured I could get him here. It certainly was not exactly the same atmosphere, but then it still was an important point,” Woods said after the match.

This is the first time Woods – in either Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup play – won the decisive point for the US. This is also the first time that the US won both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup in the same year.

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The Philippine boys’ team was humiliated during the Asian Football Confederation U16 Group E qualifying tournament at the Pana-ad Stadium in Mansilingan, Bacolod City.

The team of Cebuano coach Glenn Ramos dropped its last assignment, a 0-1 loss to Bangladesh, to finish winless and last in the tournament.

Earlier, the squad, picked from who-knows-where by who-knows-who lost to Japan 0-12, bowed to Chinese-Taipei 1-4, then gave up 0-9 against Indonesia.

The team could only score a single goal versus Chinese-Taipei courtesy of local boy Allen Shane Belera of Don Bosco Technical Institute of Victorias City.

Coach Ramos said they had only three weeks of training and never had any international exposure, thus the pathetic result. Nothing against Ramos but why did he agree to coach a team he knows would be overmatched?

Whoever formed the team should be hogtied to one of the goalposts in Pana-ad Stadium until he repents.

The pick-up system doesn’t work. The Indonesian team that beat the Philippines, for example, had been playing together for years. Despite limited preparation due to the month of Ramadan, they surprised Chinese-Taipei and will be playing Japan (as I write this piece) for a slot in the AFC U16 Championship in Nepal next year.

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GODSPEED to members of the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) that will see action in Amsterdam, Quezon City and Subic marathons, this week and the next. Off to conquer Amsterdam (Oct. 18) are Dr. Vic Verallo, Dr. Albert Santos, Jacs and Perl Jacalan, Andrew and Veronica Ong and Jane Jane. CERC President Jess Taborada, leads a group to Quezon City (Oct. 18) that includes John Pages, Dodong Sulatre, Annie Neric, JR and Rovie Aguilon, Steve Ferraren, Joel Juares, Dr. Raymund Bontol, Carlo Bacalla, Haidee Acuña and Raffy Uytiepo. Those who will run the night race in Subic (Oct. 24) are Dr. Rosan and Roy Trani, Kenneth Casquejo and Dr. Alex Junia.

GOOD LUCK as well to Atan Guardo and his brothers Jeson, Jerry and Genito, and to Joel Garganera. This group known as “Guardo Runners” will run in the Quezon City Marathon.

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