SARMIENTO ADVANCES IN CCC 2017 MEN'S GOLF
Sarmiento beat No. 13 Sato; to face PAL teammate Gonzales
Fourth-seeded Marko Sarmiento advanced to the next round after beating No. 13 Jufil Sato, 5 and 3, in the Championship Division of the Cebu County Club (CCC) 2017 Men’s Club Championship in Banilad, Cebu City yesterday.
Sarmiento, one of the club’s ace players in the PAL Interclub, reigned in the first round duel against Sato as he extended his lead to five after the par-3 hole No. 15.
In the quarters, Sarmiento will face PAL Interclub teammate and fifth-seeded Marc Gonzalez, who inked a 2 and 1 victory over No. 12 Jovi Neri in the first round.
Ybañez also sweeps Chua in the other first-round match
Gonzalez ended the match with a 2-up lead after hole No. 17.
In the other first-round matchup, No. 9 Jan-Jan Ybañez prevailed over eighth-seeded Ferdinand Chua, 2 and 1, and will play next top- seeded Eric Deen, who had a bye the first round.
Two-time reigning champion and second-seeded Mark Anthony Dy and No. 3 seeded Peter Tyler Po also had a bye in the first round. The quarterfinal round for the Championships Division starts today.
The former pro Dy will face No. 7 Martin Mendoza, who booted out No. 10 Marco Mendoza via a 3 and 1 score in the first round; while Po, the recently crowned Philippine Amateur Open Matchplay champion, will battle it out against No.11 Nino Bascon, whose opponent in the first round did not show up.
“Definitely, there’s an added pressure to defend the title this year because aside from being tagged the favorite, I am also gunning for the coveted threepeat,” Dy told SunStar Cebu.
“The game plan is to stay focused during the matches and just believe in myself that I can get it done,” he added.
Aside from the Championship Division, the players in the Class B, C and D will also vie for a spot to the next round today. /