MANILA, Philippines - Daniella Uy’s stirring come-from-behind victory in the Junior World will not only enhance her promising golf career but also boost the local jungolf movement.
“We waited for a 15-17 years title for so long and Dandan (Uy) made it happen. She proved that we can be as good in the main event as we already are in the lower divisions,” said Jungolf Foundation of the Phlippines president Luigi Tabuena.
Uy rallied from behind to clinch the crown in the premier section, becoming the eighth Filipino winner in the last seven years.
“Jungolf, more than anything else, is still about family support,” Tabuena added. “But big achievements like what Dandan just got is reason why sponsors will continue to support jungolf because they see results.”
For quite sometime, Uy was just among the many “regular tourists” of the junior world, who find joy in just gaining local representation in San Diego.
But last Friday, Uy finally became the proud owner of a Junior World champion’s trophy – the coveted girls 15-17 years plum contested by 144 players from around the world – when she came from five shots back to beat Ziyi Wang in a playoff.
Tabuena also noted another significance of Uy’s victory such that “we don’t need to import players from anywhere to win which makes the victory much, much sweeter.”
Uy spent the whole summer honing her game, joining events on the circuit bankrolled mainly by the International Container Terminals Services, Inc. and hardly lost. She never felt a tournament was big or small. Playing to win was all that mattered.
The Junior World win was the perfect sendoff for Uy who will join the Gonzaga State University in Washington for a golf scholarship in early September.
That’s when she will have to start a new chapter in her career and a new label as one of the best young talents in America.