“There’s no more protest, we are taking the decision in the true essence of sportsmanship.”
Lawyer Robert de Leon nailed it like a five-foot putt straight to the cup when he explained to Edge Davao that the Davao City Golf Club is officially taking the decision of the rules body of the 74th Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub denying them of what could have been a second place finish in the Friendship division of the country’s most prestigious team tournament.
After sinking their last putt, the boys from Matina were ready to celebrate when they were called by the rules official that the team has been re-classified.
The DCGC divot-diggers came to within six points of eventual division winner Malaysia Eagle Hunters. However, De Leon said that Filgolf, the official scoring provider, discovered that one of the players in the line-up did not have a WHS handicap. Under the rules, a player without an official handicap is given a zero handicap.
This resulted to DCGC’s aggregate handicap going lower and re-classified to the stronger Aviator division.
De Leon, himself a former PAL employee, said they are taking the decision and will lodge no protest.
“We will be back next year,” said De Leon who plated impressively in the four-day event played in Cebu.
Meantime, Carl Almario and the rest of the Cebu Country Club squad won’t be going home empty-handed after falling short in the overall race of the Philippine Airlines Senior Interclub “Back to Ignite” tournament on Saturday.
“We’re happy winning the Founders (division),” Almario who tallied 95 of Cebu CC’s 564 points for the week, said during the awarding ceremony. “But of course, it (overall title) would have been the icing on the cake. But you know, in golf, you cannot win them all.”
The Cebuanos were in control of the overall race for two days starting the second round, only to falter on the final day at Alta Vista by tallying just 141 points as Luisita completed a rally by pooling 151 that easily erased a two-point Cebu CC lead at the start of the day.
Cebu CC was just eight points shy of Luisita’s Championship division-winning total of 572 points.
It would have been the second time in recent history that the club would have pulled off the feat, doing it, also on home soil, in the Regular Men’s division which Almario was also a member of.
“I just wished we could have played better,” Almario said. “That’s how the cookie crumbles, I guess. Luisita played well. They shot decent scores and they deserved to win.”
Cebu CC won the Founders by 34 points over Orchard, their division decided as early as the third round after a 133 at Club Filipino in Danao.
Eric Deen shot a five-over-par 77 worth 49 points to lead Cebu CC in the final day, even as Kenneth Kim fired 55 to lead Orchard’s closing 140 for second place, four points better than Riviera Golf, which fired 137.
