RIYADH: Noel Alipoyo went two-for-three in the FGA major tournaments as he again won the Division B (15-21 handicap) title in the Kalayaan Cup golf tournament at Riyadh Golf Club on the outskirts of Riyadh on Friday.
Enjoying the fruit of his labors with Richard Gaas, one of the top Filipino golfers in the Kingdom who revamped his swing over a three-week period, Alipoyo fired a net score of 5-under 68 to rule the division in a repeat of his victory in the President’s Cup in January.
In between those two major victories Alipoyo, a senior cameraman at OR Madarat, placed second in the Third Series (19-24 handicap category) of the Royal Air Maroc Challenge Final in Agadir, Morocco in March and won the Third Division (19-28) title in the Sinoma Golf Championship at Dirab in February.
Alipoyo, with a 19 handicap, had a field day with his driver that surprised even the long-hitting Mar Vera Cruz and his iron game was solid to shoot a gross round of 87 that gave him a one-stroke win over Amir Eshaq who in turn won by countback over FGA President Cesar Rosario. Eshaq and Rosario tied on 69 with gross scores of 86 and 87 and handicap of 17 and 18, respectively.
The Division A (0-14) crown went to David Cannon who won on countback from Ben Torrefiel after both players with identical handicap of 14 tied on 66 from their matching rounds of 80. Diminutive Ebrahim Zailon of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh took third place on 69.
The Division C Stableford format competition for players with 22 to 28 handicap produced a welter of under par rounds with the first two winners, Jun Geronimo and Mocca Tangorac, each scoring 44 points, the equivalent of 8-under in medal play. Howard Laurente took third place with 42 points.
Evelyn Jansen and Puring Garcia were the Ladies Division winners with 32 and 31 points, respectively.
The nearest to pin award winners were Tony Lizardo on No. 17 and Jun Saporsantos on No. 15. David Lloyd Bantug, the eight-year old son of Jun Bantug, was awarded a prize for being the youngest player in the field of 48 card-bearing FGA members and guests.
Team C, captained by Aries Ramirez and organized by Oca Domingo, showed up their Team B and Team A counterparts when they won by three strokes in the fun game that was created to give FGA members not picked for the recent Country Match a chance to show their worth.
Consul Victor M. Israel Jr. was the chief guest at the awards ceremony in the tournament sponsored by Mobily, which provided polo shirts, caps and a few giveaways. Angel Rodriguez and Abner Macapagal donated the trophies while the two good friends of the FGA, John Palalagi and Julian Bennett, donated the major prizes for the raffle draw.
Meantime, RGC Director of Golf V. T. M. Rafi said the club’s June Monthly Medal will be held on Friday. For further details interested players may call RGC at 8102 444 or 0503194369.
Rafi also announced the results of the Monday Night Golf last as follows: champion Valantane Pajot 22 points, first runner-up Markku Karrinen and second runner-up Sulaiman Alhamri. The nine-hole fun event attracted 40 golfers.
