Strategy

Bacolod City – The classification of the teams competing in the 63rd Philippine Airlines Interclub Golf Tournament created some sort of a stir when several top teams moved down from the premiere Championship division to the Founders class.

In the same original classification that was released, Cebu Country Club, which has ruled the Founders class the past many years, was moved up to the Championship class.

The classification of Cebu Country Club was later adjusted late Tuesday evening when it was found out that there was a mistake in the computation.

Buddy Resureccion, who is one of the tournament officials, told me that the PAL Points Average or PPA for a team is computed based on the best scores of the top eight players of the club.

Of the ten players of Cebu this year, only one, 15-year-old LJ Go, has no PPA as he is a rookie in this tournament.

When the PPA of CCC was computed, the best scores of the nine players were listed and added then later divided by 8. This is the reason for the high PPA in the original list which listed CCC as having a PPA of 64.87. 

When it was rechecked, Buddy, saw that none of the CCC players have a PPA of 64 points so it was impossible for the team to have such a high average.

Then the problem was found, only the eight best scores should have been added instead of nine, which explains the change.

When news about CCC’s elevation to the Championship division broke, it was received with mix reactions.

While many were shocked, team captain Montito Garcia also saw it as an opportunity to plan out the future development of club players.

The same shock was evident among members of the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club team, which was expecting to be bracketed under the Sportswriters division.

Although Alta Vista was already in the Founders class last year, a major change in the line-up with Gio Gandionco transferring to CCC, had affected the PPA of Alta Vista, but then the change wasn’t enough to pull it down to the lower level.

The PAL Interclub is not just a tournament where you field a team of five players per day where the four best scores in the PAL Points or Stableford Scoring System would count. There is so much strategy in the fielding of players and pairing them with that of the opponents.

Even forming the team for the Founders, Sportswriters and Friendship divisions would entail strategy if you want to win the title.

Golf is not the stupid game that non-players think it is as it is hitting a ball and chasing it or looking for it. Golf is a wonderful game and the hundreds of players gathered here for the annual PAL Interclub is proof that the game is great.

If you have the chance to get an inside look into what the teams are doing, you will even be more impressed.

Like Mactan Island Golf Club, which is fielding players to play in a course depending on the way he would normally play his game in relation to the intricacies of a golf course.

Retired General Rodante Joya of MIGC has identified five Binitin specialists and five others for Marapara.

You need to be so much into the game and the tournament to really appreciate all of it, but believe me it is so much more fun than watching cricket.

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings go to James Ramos, a good friend from back our grade school days.

Advance greetings go to Chuchay Streegan-Verches, James Boyles, Joanna Fajardo-Salazar and my mistah Jonathan Caballes of Cebu Pacific Air, who are all celebrating tomorrow.

More power to all of you! -  THE FREEMAN