Davao to host biggest PAL Interclub

Virtually the country’s entire golfing fraternity will converge on Southern Mindanao when the Philippine Airlines Interclub stages its annual championships in Davao City next month.

The 56th edition of the regular Men’s Interclub, universally acknowledged as the national golf team championship, will be played from Feb. 26 to March 1.

Preceding it will be the 17th staging of the Seniors Interclub, a companion tournament for the clubs’ senior players, from Feb. 21-23.

A record number of teams — 77 Men’s and 68 Seniors — will see action in the week-long tournament. This is the largest field in the history of the PAL Interclub, surpassing the previous high of 70 Men’s and 58 Seniors teams registered last year in Bacolod.

The roster includes 39 foreign teams, also the most ever. Teams from Bangkok, Dhahran, Guam, Hong Kong, Houston, Taipei and Yokohama will be making their debut.

This year’s competition, dubbed "Where Eagles Dare," will see a number of firsts in Interclub play. For the first time, three golf courses will rotate hosting chores for the Men’s and Seniors divisions, although, as before, only two courses will come into play at any one time.

The Men’s tournament will jointly be played at many-time Interclub host Apo Golf and Country Club and at the new links of Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club in Davao’s rolling Buhangin district.

The Seniors event will take place at another familiar layout, Lanang Country Club, and again at Rancho Palos Verdes.

With well over a thousand players competing in what has become the country’s largest golf event, organizers have introduced new rules to speed up play.

Teams will now tee off according to the "double-barrel" system — simultaneous starts on the first and tenth holes — thus avoiding the usual jams on the opening tee. The rule on slow play has also been given more teeth, with stiff penalties for golfers taking more than a minute to play their shots.

The 56th PAL Interclub is backed by major sponsors Airbus, ABS-CBN International, Air Philippines, Fortune Tobacco, 105.1 Crossover, MTV Philippines, Joey 92.3, PLDT, Premiere Wine and Spirits, Radio Mindanao Network, Royal Caribbean International and UMBN/Mindanao Times.

The corporate sponsors are Apo View Hotel, Taylor Made Adidas and 96.3 W-Rock, while the minor sponsors are Asia Brewery and Sporteum Philippines.

The Marco Polo Davao is the official hotel of the tournament.