Record field vies in Southwoods golf

A record-breaking 500 participants are joining the 10th edition of the annual member-guest golf tournament, the Invitational, at the Masters and Legends courses of the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club on May 29 to June 1.

Sports and Games Committee chairman Freddie Mendoza said that because of the huge player turnout in the registration, the usual two-day tournament was extended to four.

"With the new format, we were able to accommodate more golfers in the event. Add to this fact is the excellent all year round condition of our golf courses which our members and their guests love to play over and over again," Mendoza said.

Major sponsors of the event are Diamond Motors, College Assurance Plan (CAP), and Mitsubishi Motors while the hole sponsors are Britesmile, Miramar Tuna Belly, Nestle Phils., Prulife, Evergreen Shipping, RR Payumo+Partners, Asia Pacific Golf Corp., Hapee Toothpaste, Federal Management, Cebu Mitsumi Inc., and Logitech/Innovista Technologies and EXITO.

More than P1.5 million worth of hole-in-one prizes are at stake including the New Look Mitsubishi GLS automatic, a Royal Carribean Mexican-Riviera Cruise for two in coordination with Northwest Airlines World Business Class, a complete Wilson golf set and a four-day, three-days Thai Airways Bangkok golf holiday package. "If none of these prizes are won via an ace, they will be raffled off at the awards night on Sunday," Mendoza added.

Representative Tony Boy Floirendo Jr., sportsman-businessman Hermie Esguerra and Philippine Coast Guard Admiral Ruben Lista, George Blaylock of Diamond Motors, Mel Dizon and Teruhiko Shibata of Mitsubishi Motors Phils., Marilen Yaptangco of Baron Travel, Ray Nishihira of Northwest Airlines and Chertchai Methayanonda of Thai Airways are some of the key figures joining the four-day event.

Two-time Southwoods club champion Abe Avena, Forest Hills club champ Raffy Garcia, together with local handicap players Mari Hechanova, Atty. Manoling Chan, Cebu-based Gene Aznar are some of the players also to look out for in the low gross team championship.

Entry fee is pegged at P6,000 per team inclusive of give-aways, dinner and raffle tickets plus free practice rounds until May 28. Teams will be divided into four groups based on the handicap of the Southwoods member. Class A is from 0-9 handicap, Class B (10-15), Class C (16-21) and Class D (22-27). Maximum handicap for members is 27 and for guests 24.