Banner field seen in Corporate Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Seventy teams have so far registered for the 2009 Philippine Corporate Cup with more expected to join in time for the 21st staging of the event on March 17 at Camp John Hay in Baguio.

Last year’s winners Camp John Hay Development Corp, Naktaynay, Dragonhorse Travel & Tours, ABW Leaves of Life, Autohub Group, Imarflex and ABGC Golf Team are all coming back for another shot at the crown in the respective divisions while others have put up 2-3 teams to boost their respective bids.

The two-day event, sponsored by Camp John Hay Development Corp., Camp John Hay Manor Hotel, Golforce and Rizgolf Marketing, has also lured teams from as far as Boracay, Zamboanga and San Jose, California.

Boracay is fielding a team for the first time along with Subic Bay while Japan and Hawaii are also expected to send their respective squads in the tournament, backed by Warbird Securities, which attracted 75 teams last year, including five local and 15 sponsored teams.

The tournament is a four-to-play, three-to-count format tournament using the Molave scoring system.

Organizers of the event, featuring the country’s top golfing firms and organizations, said the practice round is set on March 16.

The CJHDC squad, composed of William Kim, Monet Garcia, Thirdy Escano and Shean Bedi, are tipped to score a repeat in the centerpiece Group I division owing to its familiarity with the up-and-down layout, which has been spruced up in time for the event.

Other events on tap are Groups II, III and IV and the seniors division with the tournament committee to decide on the final classification of the teams after submission of their respective lowest handicap indices as of Jan. 1. Team classification will be based on the three lowest handicap indices of each team.

Information: Tim Allen at 0920-9633946 or 744-442132 (fax), Cecil Caparas at 0918-5063282 or 744442133 (fax), Joyce Valdez 0920-9181826 744-442133 (fax).