Written: November 13, 2010
A day after the ICTSI Philippine Pro Golf Tournament in Pampanga, I am now back in Manila. I wasn’t able to write a daily blog during this tournament because prior to leaving, my computer’s keyboard started acting up. The letters “L” and “O” weren’t functioning basically rendering my computer useless for any typing activities.
So here’s a quick recap of the 5-day trip to Clark Airbase, Pampanga that began on Monday, November 8. Stretching over 7,400 yards, the Mimosa was one of the longest tournament courses I have ever played. There is no par 5 that you can reach in 2 and it seems like all the par 4’s are over 450 yards long. Getting a feel for the course was challenging in the first two days of practice. The greens were slow and bumpy and simply getting used to hitting mid to long irons on every hole was a workout.
However, as day 1 came around on Wednesday, I was all set and ready to go. As I recall, I got out of the gates nicely with an up and down for par from 50 yards away, then proceeded to sink a birdie putt from off the green on the par 3 2nd. With solid ball striking, the front 9 would turn out to be a breeze as I shot even par. The back 9 was a different story. I would continue to hit the ball well, but the scoring wasn’t there. A final score of 76, and I knew much was left out there. With the difficulty of the course, Chuck Hong led the way among our team shooting a solid 72 and sat at 2nd place overall.
Since we were a big group, the dinners with the team throughout this tournament were a lot of fun. It was as if we had a party every night. Every evening, we’d try these new restaurants the locals recommended in the area. It was pretty much always Filipino food but different kinds in each restaurant. The guys especially enjoyed the places where they had karaoke as KongKong (Ebarra) and PongPong (Zanie Boy) would entertain us with their talented voices. One afternoon, I also got to spend it with Xandrea
On day 2, I got up hungry for some revenge against the course and since I was striking the ball extremely well, it was only a matter of time before the results would come. As it turned out, the driver was superb for the day but I still had to scramble my way around the greens on many occasions to save par. At the end of the day, the scorecard looked pretty. Just one bogey and 2 birdies, including one on the last hole. A round of 71 was one of the best of the day, moving me up into the top 10 and five shots off leader Marvin Dumandan, my playing partner for the first two days.
On Friday, the third and final round of the tournament, I had my work cut out for me. Scores among the pros were bunched up as usual and in the race for the amateur title, there were about 5 players within 3 shots of the lead including myself. With another solid start out of the gates, I shot an even par front nine, which included my personal highlight, a 25 foot par putt that I rolled in on hole number 9. Sometimes, it’s the par putts that mean more to keep the momentum going and that was certainly the case. By the time the back nine rolled around, it was a two horse race between Clyde and I for low amateur honors. I thought this battle would have gone down the wire until Clyde made a big hiccup on the par 5 13th when he attempted to go for the green. By the end of the hole, he would put three in the water and walk off with an 11. At that point, I held a lead but hard charging Jerson Balasabas was attempting to make a move. What I am most proud of was that I held my ground through the finishing holes.
It was an unfamiliar position I was in walking up the 18th green with so many people and my teammates looking on. Once I put my shot on the green, I was left with a 70 foot putt for birdie. No gimme. After leaving that putt short by 9 feet, I hard my work cut out. At that point, trust, point, and shoot was my mentality. It was almost a numbing feeling trying to finish out this round. Once that ball left the putter face, the next thing I saw was the ball drop in the hole. Soon afterwards, I released a big fist pump not as a sign of relief, but as a sign to myself that man, “I did it!”
This tournament was certainly a big step in my career. The combination of my game coming together and the mental strength that I brought along… Man, what an amazing feeling that was… 2 over in three rounds may not seem like a good score but based on the conditions we played in all three days and how the course was set up, it was quite the performance. Winning low amateur honors was one thing but taking home 2nd place overall among the pros was even more exciting. I would have taken home P92,500 or over $2,000 had I been a pro. Myself, along with eventual winner Marvin Dumandan, who I played with during the first two rounds shared some laughter and pictures with our trophies at the end of the day.
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| Team Dinners every night |
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| Hito |
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| Me, Tonyt, Chuck |
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| Marvin and I, and Tonyt |
Golf can be difficult, mind-boggling, and heartbreaking at times but on the flipside, when you taste success the way I did today, you’ll realize that all that sacrifice, tears, and sweat are worth every bit of it. Happy Birthday Mom (Nov 12) and Pa (Nov 10). I dedicate this to you two and for everything you have done, thank you isn’t enough.
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