Cebu set to wrap up Sta. Lucia Tour title

It’s all over but the shouting and that’s just what the mighty Alta Vista of Cebu contingent will do when the 2002 Sta. Lucia Tour winds up today at the Faldo course of the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Gen. Trias, Cavite.

After yesterday’s first round at the newly-regreened Palmer course of the Orchard Golf and Country Club, the Cebuanos will make a triumphant march over the treacherous Faldo layout of the country’s biggest golf complex needing just the icing on their victory cake.

Unless nobody among them shows up for today’s finale, Alta Vista is poised to end Eagle Ridge’s two-year hold of the Sta. Lucia Cup in the series which is exclusive to members of clubs operating under the banner of the giant real estate developer.

Most, if not all, of Alta Vista’s 72-man contingent will be there to complete the coup and their familiarity with a layout laced with ravines and hazards should neutralize whatever advantage the home team owns.

What remains to be disputed are the three divisions titles in the team event and the leg and series individual titles in the series backed by Unirock, Corp., Readycon and TaylorMade as major sponsors. Minor sponsors are Gainers Marketing, Kubota, Omega, Kodak, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific . Yamaha is the hole-in-one prize provider while Hyatt (Manila), Marco Polo (Davao) and Cebu Plaza are the official hotels.

Eagle Ridge is out to corner the leg trophies and that seems to be the same mission for the rest of the teams -- Orchard, Rancho Palos Verdes and Royale Tagaytay.

There are 240 players teeing off today at Eagle Ridge and though most have had their experience of playing the Faldo, conditions were made to give them a pleasant round as the cold December winds set in.

"It’s always the best time of the year to play golf and with the course maturing to its finest, there’s a good round to look forward to for everybody," said Engr. Winifred Gob, project director of Eagle, who also co-chairs the executive committee with Vicente Santos.

Santos, meanwhile, said the Sta. Lucia management is committed to support the project because it manifests the concern of the company to activities promoting inter-club relations.

Also spicing up today’s culmination of the three-month series is the Sta. Lucia grand raffle where a residential property at Eagle Ridge as well as a Yamaha golf cart, Panasonic appliance showcases and many more prizes will be given away.

The raffle will be done during the awarding ceremonies at the main clubhouse of Eagle Ridge.

On Thursday, tour contestants had a fun day at Royale Tagaytay playing for equipment worth P200,000 in the TaylorMade Shootout, a skills challenge. The winners were Bernardo Amador (most accurate drive), Felix Villanueva (pitching), Danilo Olanosa (Target X), Apolonio Toledo (Tree Under), Irene Tatsumi (Over Jabong), Benito Oblena (Rescue 911) Jonathan Nagayo (Bad Lie), Felix Villanueva (Bunker Shot), Mark Rommel Alino and Amiel Diaz (Putting Contest) .