Big Orchard’s Founders invit’l slated Nov. 20-22

What could be the season’s biggest member-guest tournaments in terms of participation is set to unfold with the exclusive Orchard Golf and Country Club holding the seventh edition of its Founders Golf Invitational on Nov. 20-22.

No less than 300 teams or 600 members and guests have registered for the three-day tourney at the Cavite club’s world famous Arnold Palmer course and the adjacent Gary Player layout.

While most of the completed club invitationals have limited their fields to no more than 300 teams, the Orchard has stretched what used to be just a weekend event to three days to accommodate a bigger field.

"We wanted to make this year’s Founders Invitational something different and bigger than the previous ones. This way, we will also be able to let more members join the fun," said Orchard general manager Rene Garrovillo.

While the first five stagings of the Founders didn’t have a roster exceeding 450, Garrovillo announced that the maximum cast of 600 has already been reached.

Teams will have choice tee-offs of Thursday-Friday, Friday-Saturday and Thursday-Saturday either on the 6:15 a.m. shotgun or the afternoon batch at 12 noon.

Entrants are also requested to call the Orchard at 843-8344 on tee-off schedules and other tournament details. There will be separate bag drops, registration, cart staging areas and parking lots for the Palmer and Player courses.

A million pesos worth of raffle and tournament prizes will be at stake and all par-3s except for the 12th of Palmer will have a Ford Everest at stake for a hole-in-one feat. Palmer No. 12 offers a Club Car, a Taylor Made set and a split-type airconditioning unit for an ace.

Spicing up the daily action on the course are the nightly cocktails all the way until the awards ceremony on Nov. 22.