Junia Louise Gabasa is flying back to the United States on Saturday, highlighting her month-long vacation with a surprise victory in the National Stroke Play Championship at the Riviera Golf and Country Club in Silang, Cavite.
The 21-year-old Cebu ace scored a comfortable eight-shot win over multi-titled Lois Kaye Go, becoming the only player to finish 72 holes under par.
“It feels pretty good to compete with them. I’m glad that I’m starting to get into a level where I can shoot low scores consistently,” said Gabasa, the younger of two sisters who made good in the sport.
She credited her success to a good game plan.
“I think my course management was pretty good. I hit a lot of greens as well. I maintained my patience and avoided big numbers which were really important in this golf course,” Gabasa said, referring to the Langer course.
Gabasa has been away for some time because of her academic studies at Texas State University where she is a junior taking up industrial engineering.
Her last victory at home came in 2019 when she topped the W Express RFF Cup Amateur Open. Then came the pandemic.
Gabasa said her US stints made her a better golfer.
“I believe my skills improved there greatly,” she said. “I learned a lot from my coaches and we have tough practices, workouts, and tournament schedules. It’s a challenge but they have been beneficial.”
Irina, her 28-year-old sister, was a big influence on why she chose golf.
“I think I just liked to do whatever she did at that time, so that’s how I just started tagging along to her practices,” Gabasa recalled.
She said she picked up the club at the age of 5.
“I didn’t enjoy it at first though. I’m not sure when I realized I was good at it but I wanted to play college golf like my sister so I made that commitment when I was about 11 years old,” Gabasa recalled.
Irina, who won the Philippine Ladies Amateur, graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
JUNIA Louise Gabasa (right) shares her trophy with her older sister Irina.
Gabasa said Cebu doesn’t have as many facilities compared to Metro Manila.
“But I’m grateful I got to practice in both Cebu Country Country Club and Alta Vista. We had a few ranges as well but I spent a lot of time practicing on the golf course when it wasn’t busy,” she said.
Growing up wasn’t easy, according to Gabasa.
“I had to work hard, make sacrifices in terms of my social life and with the minimum amount of facilities here, I had to make the most of it,” she recalled.
Gabasa said she’s fortunate to have supportive parents.
“I’m thankful that my parents were willing to support my goals. I try to do my best to make the most out of the opportunities they gave me,” she said.
Being a professional golfer seems to be not on her bucket list.
“My ultimate dream is to be able to give back to Filipinos, not necessarily in golf, but whatever it is I end up pursuing in the future,” Gabasa said.
“There are a lot of different industries that my course caters to, so I hope to excel in that aspect as well.”
Her goal now is to become the best collegiate athlete that she can ever be.
She is preparing for the spring season and hopes to win a conference tournament and make it to the NCAA regionals.
“We have a pretty packed schedule for tournaments with very competitive fields as well and I’m looking forward to that,” she said.
