South’s best putters clash in Samsung Challenge

Visayas’ best amateurs gun for berths to the national grand finals in the second eliminations leg of the Samsung Amateur Tour kicking off today at the well-manicured Cebu Country Club. Tee-off starts at 7 a.m.

Reigning club champion Jovy Neri will be facing the challenge of his regular opponents for club supremacy like Eric Deen and Montito Garcia with Masano Kobayashi and Manila bet King Stehmeier looming as outside threats.

There will be 120 players, including club prexy Douglas Luym and VP Bugs Unchuan, teeing off today and vying for the top plums in Classes A, B and C in the men’s competition and Classes A and B in the women’s side.

The Amateur Tour is part of the Samsung Digitall Challenge. Co-sponsors of the tourney are TaylorMade adidas, Gatorade, Maxfli, Fila, Custom Clubmakers and Hotshots Flame-Grilled Burgers. Wave 89.1, City Lite 88.3, 103.5 K-Lite, Magic 89.9, KillerBee and 99.5 RT are radio partners.

Sang Youl Eom, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics Philippines, will be flying in from Manila to supervise the only out-of-Luzon leg of the DigitAll Challenge and join regional dealers in a friendly round.

Winners here will join the first batch of winners coming from the Aoki course of the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club. They are led by Erwin Vinluan and national player Carmelette Villaroman.

Division champions in the elimination series including those at Tagaytay Midlands (Jan. 9-10) and Mt. Malarayat (Feb.6-7) will fight it out for bigger prizes in the national finals next year.

Also this week is the fourth leg of the Samsung Putting Challenge scheduled on Saturday and Sunday with the winners to represent the Visayas in the grand finale also next year.

The third part of the three-in-one event is the Samsung Interscholastic, the junior championships which will feature prominent colleges and universities battling it out for school pride.