Beverly Place joins Sta. Lucia Tour cast

MANILA, Philippines - With the addition of Beverly Place Pampanga, the teams vying for the Club of the Year plum in the popular Sta. Lucia Golf Tour set to start early next month has grown to nine.

 Beverly Place is the newest member of the Sta. Lucia Realty family of topnotch courses all over the country, providing golfers in Luzon another alternative destination accessible through the North Luzon Expressway.

It will be joining the long-time members of the Sta. Lucia Tour cast in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the inter-island circuit among members of clubs developed and operated by real estate giant Sta. Lucia Realty.

The other clubs are Alta Vista of Cebu, Eagle Ridge of Cavite, Lakewood of Cabanatuan, Lake Caliraya Springs of Laguna, Orchard of Cavite, Rancho Palos Verdes of Davao. Royale Tagaytay and Summit Point of Batangas.

As in the previous nine editions, Rancho Palos Verdes will host the first 36-hole leg serving as the Mindanao swing on Sept. 4-5 and Alta Vista will be the venue of the Visayas stop on Oct. 2-3.

Summit Point will make its debut as a Tour host this season. The Robert Trent Jones, Jr. designed course serves as one of the two venues, the other being Eagle Ridge, for the culminating Luzon leg on Nov. 6-7.

“Despite the hard times, we hope to celebrate our 10th year the best way possible,” said Vicente Santos and Wini Gob, co-chair of the Sta. Lucia Tour executive committee.

As one of the biggest marketing projects of Sta. Lucia, the participation of the 200 players is subsidized, including plane fares, stays in five-star hotels, giveaways, meals and raffles. In 2008, the entire 200-player entourage flew to Bangkok, Thailand for an international edition of the Tour.

Every Sta. Lucia Tour leg is also a big boost to local tourism with players bringing along other family members for visits to choice regional spots while they compete at the course.

Membership support for the event has not waned since its inception and proof to this is the heavy demand for slots, organizers said.