Philippines Golf Academy

Juvic Pagunsan was the class of the field at Royal Northwoods

Juvic Pagunsan proved once again that when he plays his best, there are few Pinoygolfers that can match him on the golf course. Juvic finished with rounds of 66-70-69 for a 3-day total of -11; two strokes clear of runner-up Jay Bayron in a masterful display. That total could have been even lower if he managed to avoid bogies on 13, 15 (both par 5′s) and 16 on his last round. I felt he took unnecessary chances going for the par 5′s in two but hey, what do I know? He still won by two, right?

Jay Bayron studies his putt on number 2

Jay Bayron proved that his breakout performance on the Philippine Golf Tour last year was no fluke. He was in position to win but had no answer for Juvic’s -4 opening nine on Friday. Juvic let him back in a little bit but the leading pair were 4 strokes clear of third place. Look for Jay to keep improving as the season wears on.

Jobim Carlos could be the next big thing

Teenager Jobim Carlos opened his tournament with a very impressive 6-under par 66 to tie Juvic for the first round lead. His subsequent rounds (75, 71), though slightly less impressive were good enough to land him in a tie for fourth and low amateur honors. Good to see so much young talent breaking through and we have ICTSI and the Philippine Golf Tour to thank for that.

From an officiating standpoint, the hole that gave us the most trouble was the 421-yard 8th. It wouldn’t really have been an issue if the pros played it the way the designer intended, but most tried to take their tee shots over the trees to the left of the tee box in an effort to keep their balls in the fairway because of the strong left to right wind (a hazard goes up the length of the hole on the right). Not such a bad thing, right? Well, there’s a flower bed that was through the green on the left and the tee box of 11 sits just beyond that. Those antics kept the officials busy all tournament long.

Mhark Fernando finished alone in third 6 shots back of Pagunsan

ICTSI has apparently decided to only support leading amateurs under the age of 21. This is probably a good thing now that the Philippines has a professional golf tour (again). This has resulted in some very impressive performances by new professionals; Mhark Fernando finished alone in third at -5, Carl Santos Ocampo finished in a tie for fourth at -4 with Jobim Carlos, Cassius Casas and Anthony Fernando and Q-School winner and balikbayan Terence Macatangay proved his worth by making the cut and finishing with a top 20 performance.

Carl Santos Ocampo tied for fourth at -4

Q-school winner Terence Macatangay

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the future’s looking up for Philippine golf.

Read the whole story on:http://pinoygolfer.com

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