CEBU CITY — Junjun Plana and Coby Rolida produced sub-par rounds to lift Manila Southwoods to the early lead in the 74th Philippine Airlines Men’s Interclub golf team championships at the Cebu Country Club on Wednesday.
Plana, the only senior in the youth-laden squad, birdied the ninth, his final hole, to secure 38 points while Rolida also closed with a birdie to turn in 37.
Southwoods drew a pair of 33s from Gabriel Manotoc and Josh Jorge to launch its title-retention bid with 141 points.
“We went into the round with a target of 140 points, so I think we did a good job,” said Southwoods non-playing captain Thirdy Escano.
Plana was 3-under when he hit his tee shot out of bounds on the penultimate hole, leading to a pickup.
“I teed the ball a little higher,” rued Plana who nevertheless bounced back on the next hole.
Rolida, a Nomura Cup veteran, fired an eagle and four birdies against three bogeys and a pickup.
He set up the eagle putt from under the trees on the par-5 11th, using a five-iron from 197 yards.
“It helped that we were allowed to lift, clean, and replace the ball,” Rolida said.
Eastridge Golf Club moved into second place with 127 points behind Alexander Bisera’s 38 points.
Loyd Labrador and Joachim Alonso Yu each carded 30 points while Antonio Asistio chipped in 29.
Host CCC took the third spot with 126, drawing 34 from Eric Deen and a pair of 31s from Mark Dy and Vincent Osmena. The 30s of either Jon Joseph Alvarez or Kyu Ok On counted.
Rounding out the standings in the championship division were Tagaytay Highlands 119, Valley 116, Sta. Elena 114, Del Monte 113, Pueblo de Oro 111.
In the Founders division, Alabang and Camp Aguinaldo shared the lead with 120 points, four points ahead of Negros Occidental.
Meanwhile, Tom Marcelo of Valley Golf aced the third hole using a wedge.
The annual event, held with the theme “Back to Ignite,” is supported by platinum sponsors ABS-CBN Global, Asian Journal, Airbus, and NUSTAR Resort and Casino.
Gold sponsors include Radio Mindanao Network, Mastercard, “Memories FM 89.9 Cebu”, University of Mindanao Broadcasting Network, PLDT/Smart, and Konsulta MD.
Joining the event as silver sponsors are Philippine National Bank (PNB), Biocostech, and VISA.
Minor sponsors are Bollore Logistics, Manila Standard, Tanduay Brands International, and Asia Brewery while donors are the Department of Tourism, Ogawa, Newport World Resorts, Rolls Royce, and Boeing.
Partial results of the first round:
Championship — Manila Southwoods 141, Eastridge 127, Cebu Country Club 126, Tagaytay Highlands 119, Valley 116, Sta. Elena 114, Del Monte 113, Pueblo de Oro 111
Founders — Alabang 120, Camp Aguinaldo 120, Negros Occidental 116, Riviera 114, Orchard 113, Forest Hills 111, Villamor 110, Southern California Redhawks 109, Wack Wack 107
Aviator – Alta Vista 101, Zamboanga 101, Sherwood Hills 97, Cebu Country Club Team 2 96, Summit Point 94, Manila Golf 93, Eagle Ridge 86, UP Tee Jots 82, Fairways and Bluewater 79, Britanikka Team 1 79, Rancho Palos Verde 76, Tagaytay Midlands 76
Sportswriter — Davao 105, Club Filipino Inc de Cebu 102, Filipino Golfers In The Middle East Dubai 98, Leyte 94, Camp Evangelista 94, Filam LA 1 86, Sarangani 85, South Cotabato 83, West Highlands 81, The Firm Eagle Ridge 81, Negros Intl 80, South Pacific Davao 77, Seattle 75, Lanang 72, San Juanico 71, MSU Golf & Country Club Marawi 1 66, Silicon 59, PGA British Columbia 56, Pearl Kai Hawaii 55, Yokohama Eagles 44
Friendship — Alta Vista 2 81, Apo Golf Orogold 80, Eagle Ridge Lagitek 80, Van City 75, Davao City Team B 71, Paraiso Golf Association Team B 66, Veterans 66, Edwin Andrews Air Base 65, Liloan 62, Baguio 59, Greenhills West 59, Filipino Golfers in the Middle East UAE 58, Mt. Malindang 55, Green Tea Club Riyadh 52, Cotabato 49, Caaga 45, UAE Filgolfers AUH 41, Fil-Am Golf of Sacramento 40, Paraiso Golf Player Association 35, Fil Oz Sydney 16.
