Jolo hopes to rejoin Philippine team

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s top-ranked amateur golfer Jolo Magcalayo missed the chance to play on the national team that took the bronze medal at the SEA Games last year but hopes to get a call-up for future competitions even if he’s enrolled at Santa Clara University in California.

Magcalayo, 17, saw action for the Philippines at the 2017 SEA Games when he was only 14 and also wore the national colors at the Nomura and Putra Cups. But the 2017 SEA Games was his last venture with the national squad. He left early for the US to compete in summer tournaments last year and missed qualifying for the three spots on the Philippine team to the SEA Games. Magcalayo recently committed to enroll at Santa Clara after he graduates from De La Salle Zobel high school next year. Although his dream is to become an All-American in the US NCAA circuit, playing for the Philippines remains a high priority.

“I haven’t been called up to play on the national team for one reason or another since 2017,” said Magcalayo. “When it was rankings-based, I was out of the pool and couldn’t gain ranking points as I wasn’t playing ranked events. I focused on playing big events in the past two years and now that I’m ranked, I still couldn’t make the team because I missed local qualifiers while playing in the US. I know that I can help the team if I get picked. I understand that qualifying seems to be the most fair way to do a selection because it’s based on head-to-head scoring but I’m hopeful that they can make exceptions especially if a player can’t participate locally.”

Magcalayo said exceptions are made for the women’s team. “They do it all the time for the women’s team as all the top players are based overseas,” he said. “I guess it’s harder for the men’s pool. I just can’t seem to get the right breaks to merit a selection but I’m hopeful that it will happen. If they ask me to play and there is no conflict in schedule, I’m going to play if they call me up. It’s always an honor to play for the country. I want to play the SEA Games and Asian Games and even the Asian Amateurs before I turn pro.”

Former national tennis player and Santa Clara alumnus Kyle Dandan, who assisted Magcalayo to decide which US school to enroll in, said the way is clear for the Santa Rosa, Laguna, standout to make an impact with the Broncos varsity.  “I’m very pleased that Jolo chose Santa Clara,” said Dandan. “He has a chance to be special. It’s an opportunity for him to do big things for himself, for the university and for his country. I’m sure Jolo can deliver.” Dandan led Santa Clara to its first and only NCAA national berth in 2012 when the tennis varsity was ranked No. 29 and advanced to the Round of 16. He was Santa Clara’s best individually-ranked tennis player in history and the school’s first Male Athlete of the Year from the tennis team.

Atty. Robert Bruce, former Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines president and one of Magcalayo’s key advisers, said the path that the golfer is taking to Santa Clara parallels Dandan’s own journey. “Kyle is confident that Jolo will do more for Santa Clara’s golf program than what he did for tennis during his time,” said Bruce. Santa Clara has laid the groundwork for a competitive golf season by recruiting coach Andrew Larkin and inaugurating a Student Athletic Excellence Center with a new golf practice facility that will be ready next year. “Things are looking bright for Santa Clara’s athletic program and golf wants to be at the center of attention,” said Bruce.