They all had fun and soaked up the experience but what these band of youngsters relished more while playing on the ICTSI Junior PGT were the valuable lessons learned during the course of their campaign in the pioneering series.
“Throughout the JPGT Series, I learned that even if you had one bad round, you can always bounce back in the next. There’s a lot of chances and I turned those (chances) into results,” Zeus Sara said.
He topped the boys’ 15-18 age group category in the JPGT national finals at The Country Club in Laguna last Tuesday.
Korean Jiwon Lee, winner of girls’ 15-18 plum who has campaigned on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, described her JPGT stint as exceptional.
Patrick Gene Tambalque and Isabella Tabanas, who shared the 13-14 trophies, also both enjoyed the JPGT journey even as they expect to come out better and stronger for their future campaigns.
“You just have to keep on fighting and always stick to your game plan,” said Tambalque, who swept the last two legs of the five-round elims to get into the finals then nipped Clement Ordeneza in sudden death to snare the crown.
For their part, the 9-10 and 11-12 winners of the series put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. all savored their stints while hoping to come out stronger from their JPGT experience.
“I learned to be patient,” said boys’ 9-10 champion Jared Saban, also from Davao. “It was a good overall experience and my victory bolstered my confidence.”
“I didn’t expect to win, actually,” said Quincy Pilac, who dominated the girls’ 9-10 division. “But it’s a very big (win) and I learned to be responsible and always put importance on your wins.”
Precious Zaragosa, winner of the girls’ 11-12 crown, thanked all her supporters and the PGTI for making the series possible then stressed the need for her “to stay focused and do my best.”
