La Salle, Ateneo Midgets champs

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle Zobel cruised to victory in Midgets 2 but suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Ateneo in the Midgets 1 side of the ICTSI-JGFP Interschool golf championship in various venues recently.

The Zobel squad of Miguel Olivarez-Ilas, David Guangko, Gareth Nolasco and Kim Tae-soo submitted their best round in the series of 95 at the South Links course to finish with a 328 total under the best four out of five rounds format for a runaway victory over Ateneo, which finished at 283.

Ilas and Nolasco scored 48 and 47, respectively, to account for the Zobel team which continued its domination of the division.  La Salle Greenhills finished third with its 266, Ateneo 2 fourth at 217, Xavier at 151, Ateneo 3 at 111, DLSZ 2 at 105 and Ateneo 4 at 51.

It was a different story, however, in the Midgets 1 where Ateneo nearly lost its grip of the crown after a tense final round duel with another La Salle Zobel team.

Hardpressed to preserve a slim lead for Ateneo, Marc Elson Corrales and Aidric Jose Chan combined for 101 points and Carl Jano Corpus added a 46 for a 147 that was enough to foil the last day rally of Zobel in the tourney which is backed mainly by the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. Foundation and supported by the Philippine Golf Foundation, Martin Lorenzo and Golf Depot.

Ira Alido delivered 52 big points for La Salle Zobel and Jolo Magcalayo scored 49 but Philippe Palanca could only make 45 and they ended up losing by six points, 606-600, in what could be one of the closest finishes in the multi-division competition.