Pinoy Golfer's Burger Eating Contest

Sharing you more of our funny videos of last week. Burger Eating contest! Enjoy!

Cast: Anthony Fernando, Zanie Boy Gialon, Brent Sumampong, and myself.

The Top 5 Killers of Men

The Top 5 Killers of Men

Check this article out! It would be wise to get some life insurance after reading that.

When looking for life insurance, go for a trusted company like Beneficial Life Insurance!

Contact me!

Golf Commentary in 4 Languages

In our futile attempt to play golf last week due to the stormy weather, we decided to have some fun out of it and take a shot an another career: acting. Check out our first production video! Brent Sumampong, Zanie Boy Gialon, Anthony Fernando and myself.

Enjoy!

Empire State in Mind

Last month, May 7th and 8th, I visited New York City for the first time since taking an "official" college visit to Columbia University back in October of 2005. I got in late Friday evening and took a cab from Laguardia to Tito Martin's place in the city.

Over those two days, Tito Martin, Tita Marigin, Sabrina and I walked all over the city. Apple store, Columbus Circle, Ferrari store, Dylan's Candy, and many more. Tito Martin of course cooked the best meals at his house. That Saturday evening, he found a way to stream the Pacquiao fight against Mosley.

On Sunday morning, I got to meet up with my fellow ND graduate Kristin who now works in New York. Upon meeting up in Times Square near her office, we took the train over to this restaurant called Spice Market which served an interested mix of Asian fusion food. That afternoon, it was off to the Gershwin Theater to see a musical I've been wanting to watch: Wicked! I must say, the play really did live up to its hype! Amazing production and amazing talent by the performers.

Then... after meeting up with Martin, Marigin, and Sabrina for a Japanese dinner, it was off to the airport for a flight back to the Philippines. What a weekend! And I have them to thank for their hospitality.

Me and Tito Martin

Sabrina 

Kristin and I in Times Square

Wicked!

Tali Peak House Rental

Here's a video of the house our family rented out overnight. Great views on the cliff overlooking the ocean.

Tali Beach Father's Day Weekend

Sunday and it’s father’s day! For father’s day with the Paras family, we boarded up our cars this morning to go to Tali Beach. Another beach day and by “another” I mean its because I just came from the Calatagan beach last Wednesday for a day trip with some friends. A total of 12 family members including myself. Tita Ginger, Tito Dading, Tita Bernie, Tito Yeyo, Tita Teresa, Tito George, Gabby, Luis, Katrina, Lolo Rene, and Mamita are going this time. Off we departed at 7:45am this morning which was perfect timing as I was able to wake up early and watch Rory Mcilroy sizzle through Congressional as he continued to open up a commanding 8 shot lead heading into the final round.

We’ll be staying overnight in this gorgeous compound with a total of 10-bedrooms. Of course, with the Paras family, there’s always an abundance of food from junk food, drinks to our main courses of barbeque for lunch and Japanese beef for dinner. A lot of swimming, relaxing, and chatting going on over here. All meant to unwind and have some fun – my type of vacation. Tomorrow, we’ll be exploring the beach and going to this cliff where you can dive down to the ocean below. And since it’s a holiday (Monday) and we can’t practice in Country Club, I’ll be back on the course again on Tuesday to workout those Mizuno irons. I’m now a Mizuno player through the bag and head to toe as of last Friday! More on that on a future blog. ‘Till then, I’ll catch ya’ll later. Enjoy the videos!

ASEAN Tour Malrayat Final Round

Written: June 11, 2011

            Fitting in three rounds in the last two days put a toll on everyone.  At least we could all somewhat breath a sigh of relief going into the final day as the tournament was all caught up and only 18 holes was left to complete the four round, 72 hole event.  Despite the long hours on golf property over the previous days, I was pumped up and ready to play heading into the last round.  Upon waking up after a goodnight’s sleep for the 4^th day in Monti’s hotel (check out the previous video blog), I was well rested and headed straight for the course.  I went through my regular routine of eating in the caddy’s canteen then warming up an hour before and I mean literally by just warming up and getting lose thinking of no mechanics in the swing.  It was that easy. I was flushing the ball shot after shot.

            Same group with Rolando Marabe and Attaphon P. from Thailand.  Man, I wasn’t expecting it but I again got off to a cold start.  Par, bogey, bogey, par, par.  Chances, chances, chances, and continued not to capitalize.  The 6^th hole of the day was the first hole I walked off feeling like the course gave me one as I rolled in a par putt from 7 feet on the long 225 yard par 3.  With a bit of a spark, I’d go on to par the final holes of that 9 to turn in 38, 2 over par.

            Yet a series of unfortunate events continued to unfold.  Par, bogey, bogey.  Alright, I told myself, “even though you gave away about 25 strokes (literally, I kid you not.) I can still finish strong.”  And I pride myself for accepting the challenge of that day, of that week rather to hang in there and stick with it even though things don’t always go your way.  2 under through the last 6 holes, including a 2-putt birdie on the 18th was certainly a nice way to finish.

            Overall, 4 over through 72 holes and a tie for 32^nd place.  $478.  There’s a lot to happy about and a lot learned from this week.  One of the best ball striking tournaments I’ve ever played.  Just a little more digging left but when I find that diamond in the rough, watch out! I could sense something big coming up.

ASEAN Tour Malarayat 3rd Round

Written: June 10, 2011

            Today, an exhausting day in the office.  Checked in the golf course at 4:45am then left at 7:15pm.  It was a long day since we had to finish up our 2^nd rounds at 6:30am then upon finishing, wait for the rest of the players to complete round 2 before repairing for round 3 for those who made the cut.  

To pass time, good thing there was great entertainment in watching the NBA game 5 finals between Dallas and Miami.  The game was close as usual going down the stretch but Dallas somehow found a way to pull it off to take a 3-2 lead.  I’m of course rooting for Miami.  Yes, since I’m a Florida resident.

            The 1:50pm tee time meant we had to speed things up to finish before darkness and avoid returning to the course early in the morning.  With two quick bogeys early on to begin the round, it looked like things were going south.  But a nice par save on the 4^th hole from 40 yards away ignited the charge.  Over the last 14 holes, I would have 6 birdies and 3 bogeys to finish off the round with a 1 under 71.  Contrary to the first two rounds, I got around below 30 putts this time with 27.  7 Birdie attempts inside 15 feet and converted 6 of them.  Despite a couple mistakes that led to bogeys, it was another ball striking round.

            I’m looking forward to finishing things off on a good note for tomorrow’s final round.  All signs in my game point in that direction.  Again, just a bit exhausted but I’ll recharge for tomorrow. Goodnight!

ASEAN Tour Malarayat 1st and 2nd Round

            Rain rain go away.  That’s what tournament organizers and players were hoping for on Wednesday.  However,  it poured heavily non-stop all throughout Wednesday.  Players with morning tee times got a few holes in but ultimately, the organizers were left with no other choice but to resume the following day on Thursday.  Those who played early finished their first round.  Shortly thereafter, it was my tee time ready to begin at 9:30am with Mars Pucay and another player from Thailand.

            The entire first round, I hit the ball well and made a few good par saves.  The 4 over 76 was due to a few mistakes with the wedges as I made bogey three times with having a wedge for an approach.  In addition, an O.B. on the last hole as I went for the par 5 green in two.  Did well to save bogey there.  Despite all that, the 4 over 76 was still inside the cutline of top 50.

            We were given a 30 minute turnaround before having to tee off again at 2:40pm.  Quick lunch, a few balls on the range, and we were off again.  Looking at it from a positive perspective, I was hitting the ball extremely well.  The weather was cloudy, no wind, greens were soft. The conditions were perfect for scoring.

            A par, bogey, par start was followed by some magical ball striking.  Over the next 11 holes, I would hit every fairway and every green and have 10 putts for birdie inside 15 feet.  Just picture that. I was hitting it long and straight and sticking it.  I can’t remember a time when I hit it better than that.  It was a bit unfortunate to muster only 3 birdies within that stretch.  Even so, the effort vaulted me up to 2 under for the day and 2 over for the tournament.

            Coming back to finish the day today with four holes to play, I began with a missed 5 foot putt for par on the 15^th.  Recovered nicely with a 15 footer for par on 16.  Then a birdie on 17.  A bogey on 18 to finish with a 71 definitely secured me a spot for the final two rounds in my first ASEAN Tour event as a pro.

            In the meantime,  all those who made the cut are waiting for an afternoon tee time today (Friday) once everyone finishes their 2^nd round.  Time to go down to the clubhouse restaurant and cheer on the Miami Heat! Peace!

ASEAN Tour Malarayat June, 2011 Pregame

ASEAN Tour Malarayat. June, 2011. A little commentary at our hotel room in Lipa, Batangas, the night before the first round.

Here's a link to the ASEAN Tour website: http://www.aseanpgatour.com/

PGT Eastridge Recap

Written: June 7, 2011

           

Alright, so I wasn't able to write a blog each day. In fact, a few days have past since the PGT Eastridge tournament in Antipolo ended on Friday, June 3rd. Now it's June 7th, the eve of the ASEAN Tour event in Malarayat.  Overall, I'd say the PGT Eastridge event was a success. I broke my skid of 2 cuts in a row. Played a nice first round of 71 that landed me in a tie for 10th. Stuck to my preshot routine for the full swing all tournament long. Although I closed with two 77's, there was a lot to be happy about.

There was once incident I’ll learn from.  On hole number 13 on the final round, the tee box was set up so close to the advertisement signboard that it impeded my backswing on the left side of the tee box where I wanted to hit.  On hole number 2 earlier that day, I ran into a similar problem.  Although I was worried about the signboard in my backswing, I went through with it only to miss hit my drive into the hazard.  I didn’t want to let the thought of an advertisement board on the tee box affect me again.  In thinking that the signboard was a manmade object like a 150-yard stake or a red stake, I took it out.  Only afterwards did a rules official come towards me saying that it may have been a violation of the local rules. 

It turns out it was written on the local rules that all advertisement sign boards are temporary immovable obstructions.  Even though the tournament organizer admitted towards a faulty setup with the tees being pushed too far back that the sign was in the way, the penalty still fell on me. 

On the upside, I made a higher paycheck thanks to the two-stroke penalty. How was that possible? Here comes quirk number 2: recently, the BIR (IRS in the U.S.) decided to take a 20% deduction from winnings over P10k.  My earnings was just under 10k thus there was no tax.  If I had not gotten a 2-stroke penalty, I would have earned over P10k but with the 20% tax that was imposed, it would have brought my earnings lower than what I actually got thanks to the 2-stroke penalty.  In other words, 31^st place earned more than 27^th place.

            With that week put behind and a lot learned from it, (not only about the penalty but my game and attitude as well) it’s time to move on.  This week, another great opportunity at the ASEAN Tour Malarayat Championship.

Final Leaderboard

PGT Eastridge June, 2011 Pregame

Trying something new this time. This is my first video blog I recorded while driving to Eastridge Golf Club for the tournament. Gives a little bit of commentary for the week ahead. Enjoy!

PGT Orchard 2nd Round

Written: May 19, 2011

A second round 78 lead to a missed cut.  Although I got off to a solid start of 6 pars in a row, I couldn't quite hold my swing together and the putting didn't help either.  It looks like I'll just have to regroup, practice, and let things fall into place again.

PGT Orchard 1st Round

Written: May 18, 2011

            An 8am tee time meant that I had to wake up at 5am, get ready, and leave for Orchard which is under an hour’s drive away.  The warm up session went smoothly and already, I could feel the intense heat as sweat poured down my shirt.  Tomorrow, it will probably be a good idea to wear a shirt for the warm up session on the range then change prior to teeing it up.  Anyway, back to the story, I headed for the first tee to chip and putt some.

            The night before, I had a nice chat with Doc Rotella who told me to play a round of golf as if you’re playing with your buddies.  Stay lose and stay insensitive whether you hit a good or a bad shot.  Just see if you can play “Great” golf.  Forget about who’s in the field, how big the purse is, the cut… Just see if you can play “Great” golf.  I did just as he told.  For the beginning at least. 

            Because of what Doc Rotella mentioned, I was able to calm myself on the first hole to stripe a drive down the middle of a narrow fairway to leave myself with only 100 yards to the pin on the 440 yard hole.  Even par after 5 holes, I sunk an eagle putt on the par 5 6^th hole to get into two under for the day.  Then with some lose shots coming in, I made bogeys on 7 and 9.  At that point, I really had mishit quite a few shots and the misses would be both ways.  No matter how confident I tried to remain and how focused I was on just getting the ball in the hole, my internal panic alarm was starting to get louder.  Even more so after blocking my 6 iron 2^nd shot on hole 10, 40 yards right of hole leading to another bogey.

            From then on, I managed to steady things out by hitting green after green.  I had rolled the putter so well for birdie putts from varying distance and all were glancing over the edge and not dropping in.  Then, on the home stretch on 15 and 18, two left misses off the tee led to a hazard an unplayable.  Double bogey and a bogey respectively.  The best shot I hit was on 16, 199 yards with a 5 iron.  The ball landed just in front of the hole and hit the pin!

            The final score of 3 over par 75 left me a bit confused since I knew the root cause of the over par score was because of my inconsistent ball striking.  Unwilling to pack up and head home, I went straight to range to iron things out.  After one bucket and finding the consistency I was looking for on the course, I took a break to eat.  Then went to the gym with Ton Ton afterwards, then onto the range again where Ton saw one fundamental flaw, which was that I was aimed too far left of my target.

            See, as I started to hit to crooked and lose confidence, I thought the answer would be to play the bunt fade by aiming left.  This only caused my club on the downswing to come further under-plane like a Fred Couples move.  To get back on plane, he told me to square up not only my feet, but my body as well.  Sure enough, the 2 week ball striking struggle was over.  After that, we went over to the putting green to roll a couple.

Man am I ready to play tomorrow!  Goodnight!

Drenched Hole 18 at Palmer course. Good thing we were finished

PGT Orchard Pro-Am

Written: May 17, 2011

            Today’s pro-am day served as a second practice round for this week’s PGT Orchard event sponsored once again by ICTSI.  The tournament will be played in the Palmer Course, site of the 1995 Johnnie Walker Classic attended by many of the once PGA Tour greats.  The course looks to be in great shape.  Greens are running smooth and fast while the fairways are nice and firm making the course play shorter than its yardage.  Because of the roll on the fairways, it’s important make the right decisions off the tee to place the ball in the correct spots.

Pro-Am partners beside their Titleist Advertisement Board

            It was my first pro-am appearance in an ICTSI PGT event.  You’re invited to participate if you’re ranking is high enough on the Order of Merit.  A guaranteed appearance fee of P2,500 is a great deal just to play the event and practice.  It’s also an opportunity to make connections with the amateurs you get to play with such as today, I got to play with the distributors of Titleist. 

            Tomorrow’s tee time is at 8:00am on hole 1.  I feel like I put in all the necessary preparation.  Tomorrow, it’s time to let it free, stay confident, and most importantly, have fun!  More updates to come!  Check www.pgt.ph for live scoring.

Philippine Open 1st and 2nd Round

Written: May 14, 2011

            It’s Saturday morning right now and I’m writing since I don’t have a weekend tee time at the Philippine Open.  Two days of tournament golf and a missed cut at my first Asian Tour event.  My scores of 80-77, a total of 13 over par, was 9 shots off the cut line.  It’s easy to say that well, I just didn’t hit it good enough, the putts didn’t fall, and I had a couple bad breaks.  But the question is, why did it happen while playing the biggest tournament of my career to date?  Was it coincidence that you just can’t bring you’re “A” game all the time or did it have something to do with playing a tournament of that magnitude for the first time?  Because certainly, I was capable of playing much better than that performance.  In the coming days, as I digest the events, I’ll gain better insight and ultimately take this as a valuable learning experience.

            Speaking of the experience, it’s one that I’ll always remember.  Warming up with new balls, golf sales reps everywhere, spectators, cameras, live scoring, corporate tents, world class players, a manicured golf course, and getting inside the ropes to compete… Being a part of it for the week brought emotions of thrill and excitement and also a nervous energy.  It’s the type of atmosphere I come to realize that “this is where I want to be.”  It’s almost the feeling as if I belong.  Playing the event provided a first glimpse of what guys like me who recently just turned pro are really in for.  And the experience only done one thing.  Actually, perhaps two.  One is that it has only driven me more to get to that level.  Two, getting a first hand look at the other top tour pros, I’ve certainly got the game to get there. No miracles necessary.  Just hard work and a positive attitude.  Gotta love the challenge!  

Tito Yeyo and I coming out to watch the final round

Big crowds on the 18th