Palos Verdes out to firm up bid in Sta. Lucia Tour

MANILA, Philippines - Coming off a rare sweep of every award disputed in the opening leg, Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club tries to solidify its bid for the overall plum in the Visayas leg of the 11th Sta. Lucia Golf Tour Oct. 8-9 at the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club in Cebu.

Rancho Palos Verdes goes into the second of three stages ahead by 18 points over Eagle Ridge after winning all three legs for a perfect 60 points in the kick-off leg it hosted last month.

In that leg, Palos Verdes went eight-for-eight in becoming the first club ever to score an unprecedented sweep of all team and individual awards disputed. It also took the four individual titles disputed over 36 holes.

Alta Vista, meanwhile, is seeking a third consecutive title and Eagle Ridge is eyeing a fourth overall plum in the series among clubs flying the banner of giant real estate firm Sta. Lucia Realty and Development, Inc.

The Sta. Lucia Tour is a three-stage series supported by LG Electronics, Philippine Airlines, RizGolf, Dynamic Sports and Leisure Corp. and Master Sports Corp. The official hotels are Marco Polo (Davao), Marriot (Cebu) and Mandarin Oriental.

In the Cebu leg, Eagle Ridge tries to add more to its current 42 points while Alta Vista is close behind with 40. Summit Point occupies fourth spot at 30 points, Royale Tagaytay and Beverly Place both have 21 points, Orchard and Lakewood each have 8 while Caliraya Springs is at the cellar with a measly 4 points.

Eagle Ridge and Alta Vista need a big counter-attack in the second leg to prevent Palos Verdes from pulling away in the chase for the Sta. Lucia Cup.

After topping the 2003 and 2005 editions, Alta Vista ended a slump by ruling the last two editions.

Eagle Ridge prevailed in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2006 while Palos Verdes triumphed in 2004 and 2007.

From Cebu, the Sta. Lucia Tour winds up with the Luzon stop to be co-hosted by Orchard and Eagle Ridge on Nov. 2-6.