Breakthru wins cap ICTSI '11 campaign

MANILA, Philippines - Jayvie Agojo’s victory in the Hong Kong Ladies Amateur Open, along with Sunshine Baraquiel and Lovelynn Guioguio’s romps abroad highlighted an impressive season for the ICTSI golf squad that nearly hit the 50-win mark in the year about to end.

Agojo, a former Philippine Ladies Open champion, posted a three-shot win over Chinese-Taipei’s Peng Chieh in HK’s premier amateur tournament and went on to complete a rare double by claiming the Mid-Amateur crown to herald her comeback from motherhood to big-time golf.

She also teamed up with Baraquiel and Chihiro Ikeda to annex the team crown in the Pacific Northwest Golf Association in Wyoming with Baraquiel bagging the low medal honors. Guioguio, on the other hand, won the Sarawak Open plum that went along with her victories in the DHL Open and the Samsung Open.

“We had a breakthrough year for Jayvie, Sunshine and Lovelynn, all winning their first international events as members of the team,” said ICTSI team coach Bong Lopez. “Overall, it was another good year for the team although there were a number of near misses.”

That included the team’s one-stroke loss to Thailand in the Santi Cup in Hong Kong. It also fell short of its bid in the last SEA Games where it yielded the individual (Ikeda) and team (with Ardina and Unson) titles they won in 2009.

Still, the ICTSI squad racked up 48 victories this year, nine more than its 2010 collection with Ikeda leading the way with seven, including the Philippine Ladies Open, Thailand Open, Johor Am Open, PNGA Stroke Play (US), Japan Am Stroke Play, Suntory Open (Low Am) and Southern Ladies.

Ardina bagged six titles, including the prestigious Queen Sirikit individual title, the Malaysian Juniors, the San Diego Jr. Masters, Thailand Ladies Am, the UBC Junior and the Cangolf Open, while Agojo also copped the Southern Ladies and the New Zealand Foursomes (with Sarah Ababa) titles.

Zanie Boy Gialon also had an impressive season as he dominated the amateur side of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour before ruling the Samsung Am crown in October.

Backing up the squad are ICTSI’s corporate communication chief Narlene Soriano and assistant coaches Nestor Mendoza, Cassius Casas, Carmelette Villaroman and JR Tanpinco.

Looking forward to next year’s campaign, Lopez expressed confidence of his wards’ chances to better their 2011 output but stressed the need to focus on team play.

“Individually, my players are the best but when it comes to team play, they don’t play their usual games. And we must overcome this dilemma. I must find a formula for team play,” said Lopez.