2 teams forge ahead in Southwoods Invitational golf tilt

MANILA, Philippines – An in-form Shinichi Suzuki fueled another potential title charge at the Southwoods Invitational, teaming up with new partner Yoshikazu Hino to produce 90 points and tie Rolly Tolores and Faustito Caballero Jr. after the completion of the first round in Carmona, Cavite Thursday.

Suzuki — a key member of the Manila Southwoods squad that clinched its ninth championship in the recent PAL Interclub — and Hino flourished in the Best Ball format play at the Masters, matching the Tolores-Caballero tandem’s 90-point output under the Stableford Points scoring system.

With Teruhisa Taguchi, Suzuki captured the overall gross team championship last year, showcasing his prowess on the course.

They led by two points over the pairs of Joseph Tambunting-Derek Ramsay and Raul Magpantay-Manny Rubio, who posted identical 88s in Division I in the last of two batches competing in the 36-hole tournament which boasted a record cast of 325 teams.

Meanwhile, Batch 1 resumes play Friday in sequential tee times, also at 6 a.m., while the second batch will complete their 36-hole round on Saturday in a shotgun style format at 7 a.m.

Theody Pascual and Ferdie Barbosa scored 86 points for fifth in the premier category while Batch I top scorers Kazuo Murakami and Renie Floro slipped to joint sixth with 84 points alongside the pairs of Jaco Yupangco-Raffy Ocampo and Michael Chan-Tomas Pohang.

Further, three tandems shared the Division II lead, highlighting the competitiveness among the competing teams in the host club’s centerpiece tournament backed by Platinum sponsors CWC International Corp., Calamba Doctors Hospital and Calamba Doctors College.

Will Steedman and Anton Barandiaran, Arlette Raquino and Vicky Herrera, and Dennis Chan and Ariel Ong carded identical 96 points, also at the Masters, to seize a four-point lead over the pairs of Fred dela Cruz-Rene Gorada and Nathan de Villa-Jeffrey Ryan Ocampo, who both had 92 points.

Maritess Castillo and Richard Bernardino took solo control in Division III with 76 points under the Aggregate format at the Legends, one-point ahead of Jose Bengzon and Ricardo Nimo. Southwoods chairman Bob Sobrepeña and Forest Hills general manager Raymond Bunquin dropped to joint third with 74 points with Aurelio Gomez and Edwin Arceo, and Poch Hernandez and Antonio Otayza.

In Division IV, Iggy Escaño and Joaquin Bilbao combined for 76 points, also at Legends, and got past Gene Ynion and Armando Salva, who earlier scored 74 points, while Jun Ymbong and Ariel Javelosa remained in contention with a 73 points.

Marc Tio and Paul Martires teamed up for 96 points at Masters, forcing a tie with JJ Atencio and Jake Ong in Division V, while Manolo Agojo and Vicente Marquez stayed in the mix with 94 points.

In the Sponsors/Guests division, Jayson Yu and Manny Santander’s 73 points fashioned out at Legends Wednesday kept them in the lead, two points clear of Jude Eustaquio and Jose Emmanuel Angeles, who turned in a 71, while Rebecca Cai and Mira See carded 70 points.

The event is offering premium prizes for hole-in-one feats, including a Mitsubishi Triton GSL A/T and a Toyota Raize. Other prizes include an Alaska cruise for two with round-trip tickets for seven nights, a three-night stay at Hamp Court Palace with two round-trip tickets, a Smart Vogue Plus Ogawa Massage Chair, and P100,000 worth of free play credits at Newport World Resorts.

All prizes will be raffled off during awards ceremony on Saturday if no one makes a hole-in-one.

Hyundai Motors Phil. Is also offering a brand new Stargazer X, an exclusive prize for an ace.

Gold sponsors for the event are Federal Land Inc. and The Turf Company while the Silver sponsors include Abomar Equipment Sales Corp., Agrexplore Corp., Le Chef Inc., Leads Agricultural Products Corp., City of Cabuyao, City of Carmona, Mit-Air Inc., Pacsports Phils. Inc. and Regent Travel Corp.