Southwoods grabs lead in Fil-Am golf

BAGUIO, Philippines – Edmund Yee carded 34 points as Manila Southwoods scored a 110 to wrest control in the Seniors Fil-Championship of the 66th Fil-Am Golf Invitational at the Baguio Country Club course here yesterday.

Yee’s superb round worth a two-over 63 in stroke play at the short but tricky layout, spiked by two birdies against four bogeys, keyed the Carmona-based squad’s surge with Bong Sison, Herminio Maravilla and Cipriano Anton backing him up with 27, 25 and 24, respectively.

With a two-day 214 aggregate, Southwoods took a three-point lead over defending champion Pugo Adventure, which put in the day’s best score of 111 to rebound from fifth to second with a 211.

Ed Montenegro shot 30 points while Douglas Puckett, Goodie Ignacio and eight-time individual champion Fred Puckett added 29, 28 and 24, respectively, for the defending champions while first day leader John Hay failed to sustain its impressive 106 start with a 100 and slid to third at 206.

Jeung Sek Jun led John Hay with 28 points after failing to count in the first round while Bong Mandapat had 26, Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan added a 24 and Clyde Cabreros chipped in a 22 for the former three-peat winners.

Meanwhile, action in the premier seniors division shifts to the long John Hay course tomorrow with fancied San Miguel team tipped to rebound from a 103 for a 205.

Former pro Eddie Bagtas atoned for a 27 start with a 30 but failed to draw solid backup from the rest as Rudy Amata made a 25 and Chito Laureta and Fernando delos Reyes tossed in 24 points apiece.

“We’re down by nine but that’s okay as we get into CJH where long hitters will have a better day,” said Bagtas, who had two pick-ups against two birdies.

Tommy Manotoc is also expected to play for San Miguel at resumption of the event presented by Toyota, which also stakes two Vios for aces on Nos. 10 and 18 of the BCC and John Hay courses, respectively.

Other backers of the event are Petron, Magnolia, SMC Global Power, Manor at Camp John Hay, Forest Lodge, Empire, RFID, GPS Tracker, Megafiber, Team Eagle, CJH Development Corporation, Rizgolf, Megafiber, Le Chef, Farmers Coffee and the CJH Trade and Cultural Center.