PGT Sherwood Recap

Written: October 1, 2011

The first time I would be attempting to complete 18 holes in a month and a half would be for the first round of the PGT Sherwood tournament.  Nerve-wracking in two aspects: the thought of whether my back would hold up and the thought of whether my game will hold up.

Fortunately, I had one exceptional blessing going for me.  That is, I was excited to be on the golf course no matter what.  I was excited to be playing, to be feeling healthy, and whatever may come during that week, I wouldn't mind.  If there's one thing that my break has taught me is that golf is still a game.  Playing it professionally or playing it as a weekend golfer is besides the point.  Golf is a game that we enthusiasts play because we love it.

Being free of any expectations made me play as best as I could that windy first round.  Shooting a 3 over par 75 under windy conditions was a score I would be satisfied with.  I followed it up with the exact same score during the second round.  3 over par.  The last round, as another typhoon made landfall in the Philippines, it was another gusty day.  That round was almost salvaged as I birdied holes 11 and 12 to get back to 2 over par for the day.  But a 7 over par finish in the last 6 holes wasn't pretty at all to finish with an 81 for a 31st place finish.

All in all, tough breaks and some lack of practice kept me out of contention for the tournament.  The good thing is that the health has returned and I can once again, go back to playing golf full time.  3 weeks of practice before the next tournament in Calatagan October 26-28 should give ample time to return into a solid practice routine.  There's a lot of work ahead, but if I stay out of my own way, worry less and put the necessary preparation in, success will come again.

1 SALVADOR, ELMER 68 67 135 -9 3 2 3 5 5 3 4 4 3 32 4 3 5 5 3 5 3 4 4 36 68 203 -13
2 PUCAY, MARS 68 74 142 -2 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 4 36 3 3 4 5 4 5 3 5 5 37 73 215 -1
MURAKAMI, ARTEMIO 75 66 141 -3 4 3 5 6 5 3 4 3 5 38 3 3 4 4 5 6 3 4 4 36 74 215 -1
4 BONDOC, GENE 68 76 144 0 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 4 5 36 4 3 5 5 5 4 3 3 4 36 72 216 0
CASAS, CASSIUS 70 69 139 -5 4 3 4 9 4 4 5 4 5 42 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 3 4 35 77 216 0
6 BIBAT, MICHAEL 75 69 144 0 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 4 4 36 4 3 6 4 5 4 2 5 4 37 73 217 1
7 SINFUEGO, RICHARD 74 71 145 1 4 4 3 4 5 3 5 5 4 37 4 3 4 4 4 7 3 5 3 37 74 219 3
8 MAGADA, BENJIE 72 75 147 3 5 2 4 5 5 3 3 5 5 37 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 36 73 220 4
ROSALES, GERALD 77 69 146 2 5 2 4 5 4 3 4 5 4 36 4 3 6 4 5 5 3 5 3 38 74 220 4
ZARATE, DANNY 70 74 144 0 5 4 4 6 5 4 4 5 4 41 3 3 3 5 4 5 4 4 4 35 76 220 4

Last Day Look

Typhoon Pedring Holds Back PGT Sherwood

The PGT Sherwood event, a tournament I've much been looking forward to after taking a month and a half off from golf to rest and rehab the back was postponed a day due to Typhoon Pedring.  Instead of starting on the usual Wednesday slot on September 28, the tournament was moved to Thursday, September 29.  That proved to be a good decision as typhoon Pedring pounded the entire Manila with winds and rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Take a look at this video of how strong the winds were from outside the window of my grandparent's house.

PGT Sherwood Preview

Arrival from Dubai was Saturday morning, September 24th.  An hour and a half flight from Dubai to Doha on Friday afternoon. Then an overnight flight from Doha to Manila, which was about nine and a half hours.  You would think that sitting down the whole time on the plane will get you recharged.  After all, you didn't do anything on a flight.  However, the opposite occurs.  The body becomes lethargic and in need or rest.  Especially when you fly on the way back since there is no excitement factor in going to a new destination.  You're simply, well, going home from the adventure.

While Olga and I did rest that day to regain our strength from an epic journey to the Middle East, there was not much time to ponder and reminisce.  A new task awaited.  That was, teeing it up for a practice round on Monday, September 26th in Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Cavite for the PGT Sherwood Classic.  After withdrawing from Cebu back in August and skipping the tournament in Riviera, I was looking forward to this tournament with excitement and possibly some anxiety as well.  One and a half months out of golf doing nothing but rest and rehab and of course the travel made me wonder if the back was truly set for the demanding tournament and training schedule.  Was the ball striking and feel still there like the past or had I regressed a lot in a few months? With several scenarios boiling up in my head, I was anxious to tee it up on Monday and see for myself what the game would throw at me.

Check this video out as I drive to the course on Monday, September 26th:

Ski Dubai for the last day

The last main attraction of our epic trip to Dubai was Ski Dubai.  This is an indoor ski resort with 22,500 square metres of indoor ski area. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls in the world, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was developed by Majid Al Futtaim Properties, which also operates the Mall of the Emirates.

Bought gloves prior to entering Ski Dubai

That's her "it's frigid!" face. Going up the ski lift. "I think we can do this!"

Our friends that we met. 

Yummy hot chocolate. Definitely a must up top at Avalanche Cafe

View from above

Opened in November 2005, the indoor resort features an 60-meter high indoor mountain with 5 slopes of varying steepness and difficulty, including a 400-metre-long run, the world's first indoor black run, and a 90-metre-long quarter pipe for snowboarders. A quad lift and a tow lift carry skiers and snowboarders up the mountain. Adjoining the slopes is a 3,000-square-metre Snow Park play area comprising sled and toboggan runs, an icy body slide, climbing towers, a snowball shooting gallery, an ice cave and a 3D theatre. Other attractions include a mirror maze and a snowman-making area. Winter clothing, ski and snowboard equipment are included in the price of admission.

An extremely efficient insulation system helps the facility maintain a temperature of −1 °C during the day and −6 °C at night when the snow is produced.

Olga was iffy about going to Ski Dubai since she went inside the indoor Ski Resort a few days prior to my arrival in Dubai.  However, she did not ski.  She went up the ski lift with her mom and had hot chocolate at Avalanche Cafe.  I told her, "we must try out the skiing. we're already here!" Yeah we're novice skiers but we'd probably figure it out.  I was half right about that statement.  While I never quite got the hang of it like skiing when I was 5 years old, I still managed to stand up and ski down the slope.  What a thrill it is when you have the cold air blowing through your face.  Good thing there were no serious crashes or that might have delayed my recovery from my back injury.

Olga on the other hand, well, lets just say she enjoyed it much better from the viewing deck at Avalanche Cafe.  She attempted one ski down the slope but after that, she figured it was better with her feet planted on the ground, ski-less.  At least she could say that she gave it a shot.

That goes for everyone visiting Dubai and the Mall of the Emirates! That last attraction concluded our visit in Dubai.  The rest was family time with Olga's mom and uncle.  This was a trip I would never forget. :)

Dubai Desert Safari Tour

Day 5 of the Dubai trip was the desert safari tour. And let me tell you, your trip to Dubai isn't complete without this tour.  The trip begins with a pickup from the driver at your location.  We were picked up with a Toyota Land Cruiser, which we would later learn would be our ride through the desert terrain.

Olga posing in front at the "pitstop" before the desert terrain

Pretending we rode the Hummer. But our Toyota Land Cruiser wasn't too shabby

For 100AED, which is approximately 27 USD per person, you get picked up from your location in Dubai, get brought to the outskirts of Dubai near the boarder of Oman and the United Arab Emirates (40 minute drive), then from there, they release some air in the tires and the off roading begins! The tour doesn't stop there though, after some cool drifts and climbs through the sand dunes, the driver takes us along with other tourists to a campsite where they have various activities that include Shisha (did I spell that correctly?), henna tatoos, gift shops, authentic middle eastern food, camel pictures, belly dancing, and whole lot more entertainment! What a deal right?

We're like humans on Mars! Enjoying and exploring the fine sand

The Toyota Landcruisers

Footprints in the sand

And how could you forget the camel?

Belly Dancer

The entire afternoon and evening trip of fun and adventure through the desert was definitely worth it. You definitely do get a taste of the local flavor of what the middle eastern culture is about.  Like I said, this Dubai desert safari trip is a must!

Spinner dancer guy