EX-POINT GUARD HITS IT BIG IN GOLF
17-year-old Tyler Po makes history for Cebu in winning PHL amateur match play Po, a former basketball player, picked up golf seven years ago Incoming 12th grader says he plans to play college golf in the US
Peter Tyler Po started out as a grade school basketball player before he got hooked on golf seven years ago. And just last April, that switch paid off as he became the first from Cebu to win the championship title in the long history of the Philippine Amateur Open Matchplay.
The 17-year-old from Cebu Country Club (CCC) had the first taste of golf when he entered the CCC Summer Junior Golf program a decade ago. At first, playing golf was just a summer activity for the former basketball grade school varsity at the Philippine Christian Gospel School.
“It was just for fun and a sum- mer activity for me. I looked forward to the jungolf program because I got to play and see my friends,” Po, who played as a point guard, told SunStar Cebu in an interview.
After grade school, Po decided to focus on golf over basketball. He spent more time at CCC and when he turned 13, he started joining junior golf tournaments in Manila.
Shifting from a team sport to an individual game, Po said he had to change his mindset to get used to not having a teammate who could help.
“You practice on your own, play on your own and there’s no support, really. It’s all on you and the focus you have on the game,” he said.
After winning some junior golf tournaments in Cebu, the incoming Grade 12 student of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) earned the biggest win of his young career, winning a major title in the 2017 Philippine Amateur Open Matchplay at the Orchard’s Player course in Dasmariñas, Cavite. He beat Jolo Mag- calayo, 4 and 3, in the championship round last April.
“Actually I didn’t know I was the first Cebuano to win it until Jovi (Neri) told me or posted it on social media. (Upon knowing it) I had a feeling that can’t be explained, and I was honored to be the first to win it,” he said.
One week after the victory, Po reigned in the 2017 CCC Men’s Club Championship on his first try, and then went on to win his third CCC Junior Golf Championship title.
“I feel like after winning the PH Amateur Matchplay Championship, my confidence was boosted and I hit a different level in my game,” he said.
One of the local veterans of CCC, Atty. Jovi Neri, said that the PH Amateur Matchplay Championship started to record the winners of the event in 1962 with some of the winners including Juvic Pagunsan, Frankie Miñoza, Golem Silverio, Angelo Que and all the legends of golf in the Philippines.
Neri, a mainstay of the PAL Interclub, also said that Po winning the Junior Golf title thrice is a club record.
With the accolades he got this year, Po is not resting on his laurels and plans to play college golf in the US after he finishes secondary education this school year.
“Yeah I’m planning to study in the US and play college golf there. I have committed to a school but I’m not sure if I’m allowed to mention it publicly yet. I verbally committed to them,” said Po.
Some of the former junior golf players at CCC who are now playing at the US are Lloyd Jefferson Go and his younger sister Lois Kaye Go and Riko Nagai.
To gain more experience in international competition, Po will be competing in seven junior golf tournaments in the US this year. He said that balancing the studies while playing golf really needs discipline and time management.
“It’s really hard to balance because it’s golf and it’s not inside the campus. You have to go out to play. But I make sure to complete my homework and studies when I go home,” he said.
Po looks forward to play college golf and improve more on his game. He was grateful for his parents and family for the continued support on the sport he has chosen.
“They (my family) really supported me; they didn’t stop sending me to Manila for tournaments, even those times that I wasn’t winning. I feel like it helped me improve,” he said.
It’s all on you and the focus you have on your game. PETER TYLER PO
Peter Tyler Po’s title run Philippine Amateur Match Play championships CCC Men’s Division match play CCC Jungolf