Like what his flight-mates did upon arriving on the 15th tee, Gabriel Oconer Yuzon was aiming right. The previous guy fired with a hybrid that landed on the green.
“You just might be the one who nails it,” the flight-mate told Yuzon who was hitting last.
Prophetic words.
A 10-handicapper, Yuzon pulled out his Callaway 7-iron.
“I didn’t give it much thought, my swing,” Yuzon told Tribune Golf. “Actually I didn’t feel I hit it 100 percent, it was more on the lower part of the club head.”
Yet it took full flight — the kind which he feared might not make it to the green. Landed softly and rolled straight to the cup.
“No way!”
Until the following morning Yuzon said he’s finding it “hard to process what happened.”
It was his first hole-in-one. And one that came with a bonanza.
He said Mitsubishi has already talked to him to arrange the handover of a brand-new Triton pick-up truck. That’s on top of an e-scooter, P100,000 cash and P100,000 worth of gift certificate.
“The car I’d probably use it. It’s good,” said the 24-year-old who graduated business management at De La Salle University.
He now works as project developer for Filinvest which happens to sponsor the 36th Mango Tee at the Alabang Country Club.
Yuzon picked up the sport just before the pandemic in 2019. His first love is tennis, though.
In fact, a day after his hole-in-one feat, Yuzon is back at ACC to practice for a tennis tournament.
“Tennis is my first love. I guess it gives you an advantage in golf because of hand-eye coordination,” Yuzon said.
“And when you play tennis, you tend to be handsy which when you’re swinging a golf club helps you hit draw.”
Yuzon was one of the two players who made an ace in the six-day meet. Raul Regalado also hit a hole-in-one on No. 8 right on the same day to win a Jetour Ice Cream electric vehicle.
