Story & photos by Bobbet Bruce
An undermanned La Salle team edges team medal play winner and archrival Ateneo to capture the 2019 Philippine Golf Foundation (PGF) School Championship and end their five-year title drought last December 1, 2019, at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club.
The Green Archers who scored a three-peat title run from 2012-2014, nipped the Blue Eagles, 85-83, in team aggregate Stableford scoring with the three out of four scores counting to snatch the crown from the pre-season favorites.
La Salle rode the fiery performance of former Callaway Junior World Champion and national team player, Kristoffer Arevalo who punched in a championship round best 35 points, 1 over par 73 in stroke play scoring, to buck the absence of their team captain. Mike Uy’s 27 points and Jaime Oposa’s 23 points were mandatory scores but was enough to keep the Blue Eagles at bay.
Coby Rolida led the Loyola squad with a 31 but incurred the most painful penalty in the tournament. Rolida’s teammate caddy was called for an infraction standing behind him and in the lie of play as he teed off on hole No. 2. That two-stroke penalty would haunt Ateneo at the end of the round as it caused them a chance to go to sudden death play-off for the championship.
Ateneo had the luxury of fielding a complete lineup but they still fell short with Nathan Kawpeng and Quito Diaz both submitting 26 points with Santino Gatmayatan’s 25 points not counting.
It was a sorry loss for Ateneo who took their fourth runner-up trophy in the past five years as they dominated the medal play rounds winning the first leg and the overall medal round title with their second team even winning the second leg. They easily disposed of UP in the head-to-head team match-off round to set up a dream final with their perennial archrivals.
La Salle on the other had difficulty fielding a full lineup and barely qualified for the next round where they disposed of 4-time defending champion Lyceum University but came up big when it mattered.
In the High School Invitational Division, De La Salle Zobel took the overall team title with Miguel Ilas and Bernadette Morillo winning the individual crowns for the Junior Archers.
The 14th edition of the only collegiate league in the Philippines took a new direction by opening the championship to both team and individual golfers whether they are recognized or not by their respective schools as a club or varsity team sport.
The championship this year aims to further push college golf competition in the consciousness of traditional big school leagues like the UAAP and the NCAA by displaying that there is a healthy college level golfing population waiting to be tapped by schools for league tournaments.
The tournament aims to show the leagues and colleges not familiar with the sport that golf is a viable and exciting sport to support.
“We are very happy with the tournament this year as it achieved our modest goals. More participation from more players and schools. Next season, we plan to further expand the field and have more players and hopefully more schools invested in college golf” said Arsenic Laurel of the PGF.
More than 40 college level players were registered to play representing Ateneo, LPU, UP, De La Salle University, UST, TIP and Mapua.
Image credits: Bobbet Bruce