Alta Vista makes history in 74th PAL Interclub
Cebu’s Alta Vista Golf and Country Club made Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub history by winning two category titles in the just-concluded 74th edition tournament after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
Alta Vista team 1 bagged the title via a come-frombehind fashion in the thirdranked Aviators Division of the tournament participated in by clubs from around the country and abroad.
Alta Vista team 2, on the other hand, was a runaway winner in the fifth-tier Friendship Division.
It wasn’t too long ago when the organizers of the annual tournament allowed clubs to field two teams. Alta Vista was among the clubs that had two teams fielded this year along with Cebu Country Club and a slew of others from Luzon and Davao as well as abroad.
AVGCC TEAM 1
In the Aviator Division, Alta Vista’s team 1 skippered by Blake Nelson Go held the lead for the first two rounds played at the Club Filipino course in Danao and Cebu Country Club, respectively.
The team lost the lead after the third round played at CCC and trailed co-host Cebu Country Club team 2 by two going into the final round that was played in Danao.
When the scores started to come in one the final round, it appeared that CCC2 was poised to take the title, but the fortunes of the teams were reversed by young gun Weiyu Gao, whyo had a birdie-birdie finish to give Alta Vista 2 a four-point victory.
Team captain Go said, “we could not celebrate until the last putt was made.”
When Gao sunk his birdie
putt, the celebration begun. CCC2 finished as first runnerup while Zamboanga City Golf Club was third.
Alta Vista finished with a total of 425 points in the Stableford Scoring System (101-116-105-103) followed by CCC team 2 with 421 (96113-115, 97) and Zamboanga City Golf Club with 417 (101102-108-106).
The other members of Alta Vista 1 were Interclub veterans Charlie Gaite, Gabriel Yap Jr., Joseph Yun Taejung, and Marvin Mendoza. They were joined by rookies Lyon Woo Jungbum and Charles Francis Tiu as well as lastminute replacement Ferdinand Chua and Interclub returnee Dumanjug Mayor Efren ‘Gungun’ Gica.
CCC team2 was manned by Baltaire and Gibson Balangauan, Thoas Castillo,
Frederic Chiongbian, Miguel Martinez, Marco Mendoza, Julius Pierre Neri, Antonio San Juan, Shin Ki Hoon, and Dominic Gotiong.
AVGCC TEAM 2
The club’s second team was formed after a suggestion by brothersArnold andAnthony JovilGonzalodo during the Santa Lucia Golf Tour in Davao last year that the club field another squad for the Interclub. The team is composed mainly of rookies of this tournament.
They said that this team should be composed of solid class B handicap players and shall serve as a future source of players for the club’s main team.
The rule states that no player from a club’s team 2 must have a lower handicap than any player from team 1.
Alta Vista’s team 2 was skippered by Ritchelieu Mariano Ho.
They had a flimsy one point lead after the first day in Danao but slowly pulled away from the field during the second and third rounds played in CCC. With a very comfortable lead going to the last round, Alta Vista 2 cruised to a 27-point victory over Cebu’s Liloan Golf Club.
Alta Vista team 2 finished with 326 points (81-90-84-71) followed byLiloan with 299 (62-79-89-69) and Apo Golf Orogold Club with 298 (8071-74-73).
Aside from Ho and the Gonzalodo brothers, the other members of team 2 were rookies Ronald Capito, Erick Gica, Jeff Pintac, Archie Villa, JericAbutazil, and JhanBradleeUy. Sir Cross Abarintos, the tenth player, was the only team member who had prior Interclub experience when he was a junior golfer.