La Salle Team I flexed its muscle and served early notice of its title aspirations in the inaugural ICTSI Intercollegiate Tour, topping both the men’s and women’s individual and team competitions in the tournament’s launch at Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Cavite on Monday.
Seasoned amateur Perry Bucay led the way in the men’s individual play with a one-over-par 73, edging College of Saint Benilde’s Sean Granada by one after the latter stumbled with three straight bogeys from No. 14 to close with a 74.
Ranz Balay-odao of the University of the Cordilleras tied for third with University of the Philippines’ Joshua Buenventura with 76s.
In the women’s side, La Salle’s Julia Lua showcased her poise and shotmaking with an 87 to top the 18-hole event by six strokes over University of the Philippines’ Katrisse Datoc, who carded a 93. Lua’s teammate Stacey Chan placed third with a 98.
The tournament, co-presented by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc, and the Philippine Golf Foundation, served primarily as a test run to iron out technical and logistical aspects ahead of the official kickoff on July 18.
The soft launch allowed teams and players to adjust to the competitive format, build chemistry, and address kinks in scoring and operations as the PGTI and the Philippine Golf Foundation aim to establish a long-term collegiate golf circuit.
“This was all about familiarization and fine-tuning,” said tournament director Jack Imperial. “The official stroke play event begins in July, and this was crucial to ensure everything runs smoothly moving forward.”
Rounds 2 to 4 will be staged on July 27 (men), Aug. 3 (women), Aug. 11 (both), and Aug. 17 (men), Aug. 24 (women), with the grand finals set for Sept. 23-25. Venues will be announced soon.
For details and registration, contact PGTI Operations Manager Jhiue Estrada at +63 9283165678 or PGTI assistant tournament administrator Sheila Salvania at +63 9683114101.
Despite the non-bearing nature of the launch event, team standings were still tracked, and La Salle also ruled the men’s team play under the three-to-play, two-to-count format.
Bucay’s 73 and Santino Laurel’s 79 combined for a 152 aggregate, edging UP’s 153 from Joshua Buenaventura (76) and Emilio Carpio (77).
CSB I, behind Sean Granada’s 74 and David Guangko’s 81, placed third with a 155, followed by La Salle Team 2 (162), University of Cordilleras (166), CSB Team 2 (169), UP 2 (173), La Salle 5 (176), La Salle 3 (178) and La Salle 4 (181).
The La Salle women’s team also dominated, assembling a 185 aggregate from Lua and Chan. UP settled for second at 207, with Datoc (93) and Anica Cari (114) leading the charge. Mapua, from June Cawili’s 106 and Angeli Cawili’s 114, and CSB, from Natasha Bantug’s 106 and Olivia Bermudo’s 115, pooled 220 and 221, respectively.
In other women’s individual results, June Cawili and Bantug matched 106s, while Yanna Herrera of Enderun shot a 109 in hot, testing conditions. UP’s Alyanna Yatco, Cari and Angel Cawili of Mapua shot identical 114s, and Bermudo posted a 115 for 10th.
In men’s division, UP’s Emilio Carpio and Miggy Roque scored 77 and 78 for fifth and sixth, respectively, followed by Santino Laurel of La Salle I (79), Samuel Sagaral of FEATI U (80), and La Salle 2’s Lucas Aldeguer and Gelo Sagaral, and CSB’s Guangko matched 81s.
