JGFP Mindanao leg tees off today

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — More than 100 young golfers from the region will participate in the Mindanao Leg of the Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines (JGFP) Apo Circuit set at the Apo Golf and Country Club.

The age brackets for the 5 to 12 years old will be played today and tomorrow while participants in the 13 to 18 years old categories will see action on Saturday and Sunday.

It’s the first time that the JGFP, under a new board, will conduct a tournament of this magnitude at Apo Golf, or since its first and only event here back in 2014.

“We are very excited to have a real grassroots development for golf. After this Davao meet, we will also be doing a similar event in Cagayan de Oro City later this month,” said JGFP chairman Tommy Manotoc.

“We hope to discover new talents at the grassroots level, which is the mission of JGFP,” said JGFP president Oliver Gan, a former golf consultant at the Games and Amusement Board (GAB).

“With the number of participants that we have, it’s already a success not only for the JGFP, but for the golfers because they will have a solid competition,” added Gan, who has invited Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte to grace the event.

Davao has produced a number of successful world class golfers over the years, led by Tony Lascuna and Cassius Casas.