RIYADH, 11 January — Abner Macapagal ended the year with a high note by winning the prestigious Filipino Golf Association (FGA) year.
ending golf tournament-The "battle of champions" when he fired a closing even par net-73 for 3-under par total 143 to secure a wire-to-wire success. Actually, the title is the second major for Macapagal who won the Class-A category in the Philippine Independence Day Cup in June this year.
During the first round of this 36-holes golf tournament he tamed the chilly and blasting Friday morning winds at the Riyadh Golf Club to submit a blistering 3-under par net 70 to lead the leader board in the chase for the coveted title.
Employing the same level of consistency as he did in the first round, Macapagal managed to keep his 3-strokes lead over his closest pursuers, despite his handicap being sliced down by 3-strokes as part of the tournament rules. He grabbed the grand prize- the Battle of champions trophy plus a round trip ticket to Manila courtesy of the Philippine Airlines country manager Ruperto Ordillano, Jr.
Shrugging off strong winds, Macapagal, a former FGA President and who work as Account Manager at Arab National Bank, displayed awesome consistency when he scored two Eagle shot which were both registered at the 600 yards par-S hole No. 9 during the first and second round.
The second eagle shot during the second round had cushioned the impact of his poor start when he double-bogeyed hole No. 1 "At first, I just wanted to keep my game and consistency going, because the wind was blowing like mad. You have to make a lot of adjustments against the wind" beamed Macapagal.
Highlighting his success in this tournament, Macapagal considered a hot favorite due to his consistent placing at Dirab Golf and Recreation Center monthly tournaments, tallied a gross score 143 for 36-holes to take home another coveted award — the Low Gross Score which is worth another trophy and gift item from FGA.
The guy to watch Nelson De Leon, likewise maintained his second ranking in the leader board in the same fashion as Macapagal did and claimed the championship in Class-A category (handicap 0-15) by posting first round net-74 and second round net-75 for a 36-hole total of 149. De Leon, a civil engineer connected with the Al-Mojil Group of Companies and also popular tennis icon in Riyadh, received the Class-A Champions trophy and gift items.
The much improved Nani Gagatam of Saudi American Bank, who started the year as Class-B golfer sporting a 20-handicap but now downed to 14 as Class A swinger, also sustained his third position in the leader board to placed as 1st runner-up in Class-A by registering a 36-holes total of 149, one stroke better than FGA tournament and technical chief, Ding Garcia who tallied a 36-holes aggregate of 150 to take 2nd runner-up honor.
The hot streaking Jess Manalo stamped his class anew by edging first round leader Luc Paran and Sammy Veraque to rule the Class-B (handicap 16-14) category. Manalo, a Civil Engineer who works at SCECO Central, shot a vibrant 7-
under par 66 for a come from behind victory. He struggled in the first round with 79. It was a sort of celebration for the hot streaking Manalo, who bagged the Ambassadors Cup in early November this year to cap his first major tournament victory. Manalo started his winning streak when he pocketed the September and October edition of the group monthly tournament and steadily worked on to winning more tournaments as the year ended.
Still in Class-B, the lanky Sammy Veraque, an optometrist by profession, climbed from 10th the leader board to register a 36-holes total of 153 and edged Luc Paran by virtue of count back rule to grabbed the first runner-up honor. Paran eventually settled for 2nd runner-up.
The event according to Chris Agunos, FGA President, featured 36 champions and 8 runners-up in the 12-monthly and 6-major tournaments hosted and organized by FGA. Other winners were Art Romua for most birdies, Al Zamora for most pars, Lito Punay for the longest drive, Joey Garcia and Art Romua for nearest the Pin award. Consul general and minister Mar Dumia assisted by Chris Agunos awarded the trophies and gift items to the respective winners.
The FGA management extended their appreciation for the generous support of The Philippine Airlines and ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel courtesy of Nonoy Belo, the company’s country manager.
Meanwhile, the general assembly of FGA members and election of Officers for 2002 was held on Dec. 7h, at the Philippine Embassy Chancery.
The Election was conducted and supervised by FGA Comelec chaired by Raffy Gonzales and assisted by Art Romua and Cholo Nieto. Chris C. Agunos was re-elected as President for another term. Other official re-elected are Art Ubando, Jr. as Vice President, Al Zamora, as Director-Secretariat, Membership an Publicity, Elan Canuel as Director-Treasury and Finance, Ding Garcia as Director-Tournament and Technical Affairs, Abner Macapagal, director-sponsorship and award and Deng Espiritu as Auditor.
