Wack-Wack takes lead

CEBU, Philippines - The battle for supremacy in the 68th Philippine Airlines Interclub just got interesting with movements at the top of the leaderboard after the second round played Thursday at the Club Filipino Incorporada de Cebu course in Danao City.

Wack Wack has seized the lead with a two-day total of 241 points on rounds of 124 and 117.  Erstwhile leader and defending champion Orchard dropped to second with 240 (129-111) while Manila Southwoods and Cebu Country Club have closed in with aggregates of 239 and 237, respectively.

This five-to-play, four-to-count tournament uses the Stableford or PAL Points System. The format awards six points for a double-eagle, five for hole-in-one, four for eagle, three for birdie, two for par, and one for bogey.

Wack Wack had Sammy Sy leading the scorers Thursday with his four-over-par 32 points.  Also counting for the team total were Elphege Wong 31, Kit Lopez 27, and Ernesto Marcelo 27.  The 26 of Augusto de Jesus did not count.

Orchard struggled on the second round with 111 points courtesy of Rodel Mangulabnan 31, King Stehmeier 31, Peter Paul Salvador 27, and Niko Santiano 22.  Eric Borromeo made 17, which did not count.

Manila Southwoods remains third with rounds of 120 and 119.  Those who scored yesterday were Joseph Tambunting 32, Vince Lauron 31, Jets Sajulga 29, and Jun Plana 27.

Ex-pro Mark Dy scored even-par 36 points to lead Cebu Country Club, which had the best output among all teams playing in Danao Thursday.

Also counting for the team total were Bayani Garcia 31, Eric Deen 30, and Marko Sarmiento 29.  Jovi Neri scored 26, which did not count.

Del Monte dropped to fifth with 228 points on rounds of 119 and 109.

Founders division

Alabang had a huge second round at Club Filipino Thursday scoring a total of 121 for an aggregate of 239 points.

Liam Patrick Cully and Philippe Palanca both turned in scores of three-over-par 33 and also counting for the team total were Julio Daniel Roa 31 and Arnel Paras 24.

Valley Golf has 225 points on rounds of 116 and 109.

Cebu’s Alta Vista Golf and Country Club had its most veteran player and a 13-year-old rookie taking the scoring cudgels for the team.  The team from Pardo, Cebu City has an aggregate of 219 points.

Seasoned campaigner Victor Gocela fired 29 points for Alta Vista and was backed by Weiyu Gao, who also made seven-over-par in the layout designed by Peter ‘Maestro’ Chiongbian.  Team captain Enrico Solon had 25 and last to count was either of the 22s submitted by Andrew Ahn and Jun Zambo.

Solon told www.fullpointcebu.com that he will be fielding the same team for the third round, which will still be played in Danao City.

Villamor, which led after the first round, could not find its form Thursday and managed only 97 points in Club Filipino for a total of 218 points.

Several contenders still had some pending scores as of press time.  Among them are Negros and Club Filipino.

Hotel H20, Travelife, Boeing International Corp., Business Mirror and GE Aviation are sponsoring the PAL Interclub Seniors and Regular Men’s events. Other backers include Manila Bulletin, Mareco Broadcasting Network (Crossover), People Asia Magazine, Whealth Inc., Aerospace, Uniglobe Travelware Co. Inc., Tanduay Distillers and Intercontinental Manila.  (FREEMAN)