With Lucio Tan Jr. sizzling with 40 Stableford points and four of his teammates scoring 38 points each, Corinthian Gardens topped the first round of the Nokia North with 295 points at the Manila Golf and Country Club last April 22. Jun Enriquez is team captain.
So far in this years edition, Corinthian Gardens first-round total stands as the best against any other team, including those from the Nokia South, Nokia East and Nokia Central, in the 12-to-play, eight-to-count tournament organized by Videocom in 1991.
Out to challenge Corinthian Gardens are Don Enrique Heights which scored 279 under team captain Pons Nepomuceno, Philam Homes (276, Bayani Fontanilla), Acropolis (274, Jake Tan), White Plains (267, Rene Sawit), La Vista (262, Jun Jun Capistrano), Ayala Heights (257, Vic Cordero), Filinvest 1 (247, Kenn Ramos) and Xavierville (239, Albert Arcenas) in the first round.
The top three teams after todays round will earn slots to the Nokia Grand Intervillage in November. The final round of the Nokia South is set June 4, Nokia East June 17 and Nokia Central June 28 all at Wack Wacks west course.
The event, aimed at promoting fellowship among the different villages, is sponsored by Nokia, the world leader in mobile communications, and supported by PLDT, Alaxan, ICTSI, Matercard, Mizuno, National Sports Grill, Philippine Airlines and 357 Boracay.
The participants will also get a crack at individual honors based on their respective handicaps: Group 1 for 0-5 handicap, Group 2 for 6-10, Group 3 for 11-15, Group 4 for 16-20 and Group 5 for 21-25. Maximum handicap for men is pegged at 25 and for women at 30.
Chino Raymundo, a two-handicapper, topped the first round of the Nokia North Group 1 with a 31 followed by Jong Laput, another two-handicapper from Filinvest 1 who scored a 27.