45 foreign juniors vying in Phl jungolf at Orchard

MANILA, Philippines - Forty-five foreign jungolfers from nine countries are arriving today and tomorrow for The Philippine Junior  Golf Championship (The Montecillo) which is set to start Tuesday at the Palmer course of the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Thailand is fielding its four top juniors to vie for the individual honors in the boys and girls divisions of the country’s biggest jungolf tourney named after the late pioneer of the junior golf movement in the region.

The participation of eight other countries – Guam, Singapore, Canada, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Indonesia –  gives the local bets in the tourney a tough challenge in all the age-group classifications.

When the registry closed last week, 90 local kids were confirmed to participate in the tourney which has drawn the solid backing of the International Container Terminal Services, Inc., Philippine Golf Foundation, Pancake House, Duty Free, McDonald’s, Golf Depot, PacSports, Teriyaki Boy and Sizzlin’ Pepper, PAL and Orchard/Sta. Lucia Realty. The Acacia Hotel, now among the luxury residences in the Alabang business district, is the official hotel.

The local delegation boasts of several international champions including Junior World winners Miya Legaspi and Jed Dy, recent Faldo Series Final champion Marvi Monsalve, Rupert Zaragosa and Princess Superal of the ICTSI girls stable.

“We have the best local juniors in the team and we’re looking forward to an exciting competition with our foreign guests at a world-class golf course which is Orchard,” said  Luigi Tabuena, president of the organizing Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines.

The Montecillo is the second leg of the ICTSI-JGFP summer circuit that will feature nine events over two months including qualifications for three major international meets.