Aside from the usual favorites, plenty of attention will also be on a trio of rising stars in the boys’ division when the Philippine National Stroke Play Championship tees off on Wednesday at the Pinatubo course of Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club.
National pool members Rolando Bregente, Jet Hernandez, and Chris Remata are expected to headline the field, but Mhark Fernando III, John Bernis, and Ralph Batican are also worth watching in the 72-hole tournament after making steady progress in their young careers.
Batican’s game is being mentored by golfing legend Frankie Miñoza, the country’s most accomplished professional golfer. Miñoza has taken such a keen interest in the 14-year-old’s development that he even serves as his caddie during tournaments.
Fernando and Bernis, meanwhile, have been groomed by their fathers, Mhark Sr. and Jun, both former Philippine Amateur champions. Their fathers are hoping their sons can eventually follow in their footsteps — if not this year, then in the years to come.
“I am very excited, since this is my first time playing a national tournament,” Fernando III said in Filipino as he sampled the wide-open layout in Lubao, Pampanga, for the first time on Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t think the length will be a problem, but the greens are already playing difficult — they are slopey and quite quick already.”
(C) NGAP
Fernando Sr. captured the Philippine Amateur title in 2009 at Eastridge, five years after Bernis Sr. claimed the crown at Villamor. Former teammates at Canlubang, the two now find themselves cheering for different players.
“I want to win everything that I can win,” said the younger Bernis, a second-year Foreign Services student at Lyceum of the Philippines University, in Filipino after his practice round on Tuesday.
This will only be Bernis’ second appearance in a national tournament. His first came in 2024, when he fell to businessman Gary Sales — whose eldest son, Harry, is also competing this week — in the Philippine Match Play Championship final, a result he is eager to move past.
“I gained a lot of experience from that tournament,” the 21-year-old Bernis said. “It will definitely come in handy for me here.”
Despite the emergence of the younger challengers, Bregente, Hernandez, and Remata remain the favorites in the boys’ division.
In the girls’ field, Precious Zaragosa, Tashanah Balangauan, and Crista Miñoza enter the championship as the leading contenders.
