GOLF will share the limelight in the San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night at the Manila Hotel.
The National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) will be recognized as the National Sports Association (NSA) of the Year, while longtime sports patron Enrique Razon Jr. will be conferred the Executive of the Year award by the country’s oldest media organization during the February 26 gala presented by Milo, Cignal TV and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
The NGAP produced half of the four gold medals the country won in the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia last August, courtesy of Yuka Saso in women’s individual and the women’s team that included also Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go.
Pagdanganan also bagged the bronze in women’s individual competition, making it a 1-3 finish for the Filipinas, who emerged overall champion in the sport by edging Japan for the title.
It was also the first time in 32 years golf won a gold medal in the Asian Games since Ramon Brobio ruled the men’s individual meet in 1986 in Seoul, South Korea.
The gold haul had Saso and the women’s team being named cowinners of the coveted PSA Athlete of the Year award along with weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and skateboarder Margielyn Didal in the event presented by the Philippine Basketball Association, Mighty Sports, International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), SM Prime Holdings, Tapa King, Rain or Shine, NorthPort and Chooks To Go.
The 58-year-old Razon, on the other hand, has been known as an avid golfer and major supporter of the sport in the country by way of the Philippine Golf Tour, which is being bankrolled by the ICTSI where he is the chairman and chief executive officer.
A known philanthropist, Razon extends help to the country’s amateur golf development through the ICTSI-The Country Club Program and also supports the Canlubang golf team.
He once owned the ICTSI basketball team in the now-defunct Philippine Basketball League mostly composed of players from De La Salle, where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration.
Razon is also a chief backer of the sports program at De La Salle, whose sports complex in its Taft Avenue campus was named after his father (Enrique M. Razon Sports Complex).
He joins the ranks of esteemed sportsmen and businessmen, such as Ramon S. Ang, Manny V. Pangilinan, Wilfred Uytengsu, Hans Sy, Dan Palami, Ricky Vargas, Judes Echauz and Chito Salud, among others, who were once honored with the Executive of the Year award by the Philippine sportswriting fraternity.
Razon and the NGAP are two of the 75 on the PSA honor roll.