Cebu Country Club went off to a hot start as Carl Almario fired a two-under-par 70 worth 38 points to lead the Cebuanos to a three-point advantage over Del Monte in the first round of the 64th Philippine Airlines Interclub Men’s championship on Wednesday.
Almario, brother of the late former national basketball team member and Philippine Basketball Association player Alfie, actually returned one of three 70s for the day and got support from an unheralded backup crew, as Cebu tallied 136 at the Del Monte course in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.
Cebu’s Championship stint is actually its second, and Almario, together with Gio Gandiongco, Mark Dy and Lloyd Go made sure that they would have an auspicious start.
Gandiongco and Dy fired 35s while Go had a 28.
Banny Abano also tallied 38 to pace Del Monte, the 2004 champion which got 34 points from Mel Cubillo, 31 from Julius Bautista. The hosts’ third score was either 30s of Magno Arancon Jr. or Mark Mondilla.
Canlubang lurked another point back after Art Arbole, a discovery from Bukidnon, also scored 38 that went with Paul Echavez’s 36, the 32 from veteran Abe Rosal and the 26 of Interclub debutant Gabriel Manotoc.
The 24 points of reigning Callaway World 12-under champion Ruperto Zaragosa III did not count in the Barons’ 132.
At Pueblo de Oro in Cagayan de Oro, Wack Wack zoomed to a six-point Founders’ Division lead over Alabang after getting 35 points from John Gobing and 34 each from Garry Uy and Oliver Gan that made up the bulk of its opening 131.
Hubert Lim’s 28 was the fourth score for Wack Wack as Tootsie de Jesus failed to count with a 27.
Arnel Paras scored 34 and Miguel Shah and JB Garcia each chipped in with 31 with young Basti Lorenzo coming up with a 29 for Alabang’s second-running 125, three-up on Villamor.
Former junior golfer Jan Tambogon returned 35 points and Julius Pactolerin added 31 for Villamor, while NGAP director Jun Arceo scored a 29 and Lito Toribio had a 27 for 122.
“We are not actually expecting to win, just win third or second,” Almario, 45, said. “But with the way things went today, who knows what can happen.”
Almario had six birdies overall against four bogeys at the start of the tournament backed by platinum sponsors Boeing, Airbus, Radio Mindanao Network, the BusinessMirror and Interactive Broadcast Media (dwWW).
Del Monte and Canlubang both didn’t start with their respective aces—Clyde Mondilla and Jobim Carlos—in the event that has People Asia, 105.1 Crossover, GE Aviation, Asia Brewery and Traversing the Orient as major sponsors, Manila Bulletin and Bombo Radyo Philippines as corporate sponsors and minor sponsors Lufthansa Technik Philippines, MasterCard and Century Park Hotel. Prize donors include Panasonic Avionics and Tanduay.
Mondilla, the reigning Philippine Amateur champion, practiced at both Del Monte and Pueblo de Oro and is expected to play in both venues, the same with Carlos, a member of the triumphant Lion City Philippine team in Indonesia.
In Photo: Mark Mondilla and the Del Monte squad are close behind surprise leader Cebu. (Nonie Reyes)
