Highlands completes WGAP 3-peat

MANILA, Philippines - Tagaytay Highlands turned in just one third-place finish in the 2014 Champion Infinity WGAP Circuit’s final leg at Sta. Elena recently but still ran away with the overall crown, its third straight to re-stake its claim as the country’s top ladies golf club.

Sta. Elena used its familiarity with the par-72 layout to rule Class A, finish second in Class C and place third in Class B and drew the much-needed points to salvage a spot in the WGAP Cup, which gathers the top 5 teams after the eight-leg WGAP circuit presented by Champion Infinity and sponsored by Meralco.

Rio Co fired 41 Stableford points while Sakura Okamura shot a 40 and Lota Nemec and Carina Ricamonte backed them up with identical 39s as the hosts pooled a 159 to capture the Class A crown, 13 points clear of Valley Golf.

The Antipolo-based squad, led by Violeta Pegels and Evangeline Apuhin’s 39 markers, pooled a 146 for second while Tagaytay Highlands, with Bern Wong and Hedy See firing 39 and 35 points, respectively, ended up third with a 139.

That one point in Class A proved enough for Highlands to complete its three-peat feat as it totaled 23 points to pocket the WGAP Circuit crown for the third straight year. Alabang and Canlubang finished tied with 19 points but the former nipped the latter in the countback with five wins as against four and took the runner-up honors.

Sta. Elena wound up fourth with 15 points while Forest Hills grabbed the fifth and last berth in the WGAP Cup with 14 points, edging Valley Golf, also in the countback with two wins as against one.

Meanwhile, Villamor topped Class B with 141 as Lisa Ferreras shot a 38, Melissa Gozum and Nancy Tsay added a pair of 35s and Gloria de Villa made a 33, besting Canlubang by one. Sta. Elena came in third with a 138.

Alabang dominated Class C with a 138 as Connie Moncour sizzled with a 42, Liberty de Castro made a 36 and Marilen Villanueva and Minerva Castillo each carded 30 points. Sta. Elena placed second with a 135 while Canlubang wound up with a 131 for third.

Pegels took the individual crown in Class A and Forest Hills’ Cecille Tan (37) and Cangolf’s Harumi Ieda (36) bagged the titles in Classes B and C, respectively, while Camp Aguinaldo clinched the Best in Uniform award.

Highlands all but wrapped up its third straight title after the seventh leg at Cangolf with a 22-point total, six ahead of Canlubang and Alabang heading to the final leg at Sta. Elena.