By Tonito Payumo
Isaw the advertisement online asking: Do you have what it takes to represent the country in golf?
I’ve represented the country in soccer and tennis in the past, so there’s no reason why I couldn’t do it in golf, I thought.
The criteria for being part of the Philippine team was to hurdle a local qualification, and then a two-day National Final where the winner of each division gets an all-expense paid trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a four-day, 72-hole competition spread over four courses.
Without much expectation, I decided to play the last of eight local qualifying rounds at Orchard Golf and Country Club in September playing in Division 1 (hcp 0-5). I shot a gross 70 (net 66) to win over the reigning Philippine Mid-Amateur Champion, who came in at 2nd place.
In the National Finals, I finished runner-up to Gerald Katigbak in Division 1 (handicap 0-5) and thought that I had narrowly lost my chance to be part of the Philippine delegation in Malaysia.
But when I got the call from the organizers that they were selecting me to be part of the two-man team competition and also in the individual handicap 0-5 in the invitational competition by virtue of my runner-up performance at the National Finals, I found it hard to resist.
I still have many fond memories playing for the Philippines in football (where I was part of the youth team that won the Gothia Cup in 1985, beating a team from Brazil in the semi-finals and Sweden in the Finals).
For the country
In tennis, I competed in the Asian and European junior circuit and Junior Davis Cup and won a 16 &under tournament in the US, beating the number one player from California en route to the finals. The last time I remember being in Kuala Lumpur was for an international tennis tournament back in 1990.
The feeling of representing your country on a world stage is without equal.
While you always want to play good golf especially while carrying the Philippine flag, you cannot really force good golf to happen. I knew I was as prepared as I can be, having played in as many tournaments as possible given a full-time job and a family.
I just had to let it flow and play freely.
When the team arrived at the Kuala Lumpur airport, we had our picture taken at the arrival area with the Philippine flag displayed for all the arriving passengers to see. I immediately felt a sense of pride thinking that for the next week, I was going to go all out and try my best no matter what since I was playing for something bigger than myself.
There was a convergence of teams from various countries at the arrival area eager to display their flags and national colors.
On the bus going to the hotel, we met the Paraguay team who traveled 39 hours just to compete in the event for the first time.Since we had only traveled three hours to get to KLI thought that maybe we had a slight advantage over those coming from different time zones and we should use that to our advantage.
When we got to the hotel lobby, we were greeted by a horde of golfers from different nationalities- I met people from Slovenia, Russia, Austria, Italy, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India that night all exchanging pleasantries but with a serious competitive game face on.It would be an interesting and ultra-competitive six days (four days of competition) of golf ahead.
Practice Day 1
We waited outside the hotel for two hours for the bus to arrive.
Apparently, there was a city marathon nearby and the police prevented the bus that would take us to the course from coming close to the hotel. I played with the Philippine team members at the Nilai Springs Golf and Country Club in a course about one hour from KL.
It was a surprise that the course was not one of the official courses for the tournament, and some teams complained, but we reasoned that it was still a chance to acclimatize and get ready for four days of actual competition ahead.
It was there that I realized that we were going to play three of the four courses for the very first time and under tour-like conditions. I knew that as much as we were competing against players from 38 different nationalities, we were foremost competing against ourselves and the golf course.
Practice Day 2
Played a practice round at the Sungai Long Golf Course (the first championship golf course in Malaysia designed by Jack Nicklaus).
I played with my fellow teammate Oliver Gan, a Slovenian, and a Pole, all competing in the Division 1 category. The Slovenian was affable and friendly but didn’t hide his displeasure and frustration when a two-some from Russia went ahead of us while taking a water break at a tee-house.
It was there I realized that what may be acceptable in one culture may not be for other cultures. The term “culture clash” applies very much to golf as it does to other areas.
The Welcome Dinner that followed was a spectacle to see as the teams paraded their flags and stood to honor their national anthems. When our team captain Errol Chua entered the dining hall waving the Philippine flag proudly, we felt like we belonged and stood shoulder-to-shoulderwith the super powers in golf.
Competition
Day One: Played with a pair of Swedes at Sungai Long Country Club. Having had a practice round the day before gave me a bit of comfort thus shooting a 74 to get the tournament off to a decent start. My strategy on Day One was not to shoot big numbers and shoot myself out of the tournament, gand tojust put myself in the mix heading into Day Two.
Day Two: Playing with an Austrian who was a former European Challenge Tour player and a Vietnamese at the picturesque Mines Course where Tiger Woods partnered with Mark O Meara to win the World Cup of Golf.
Despite hitting OB on the 18th (our ninthth for the day), I played more relaxed and free compared to Day One and recovered to shoot a 70. My playing partner Mickey Tan also played well and this performance would put us in the lead out of 74 teams heading into Day Three of the two-man team invitational competition. The 70 also put me in the individual lead in Division 1.
Day Three: We tackled the famous but tricky Kota Permai course which was carved out of an oil palm estate and host of the Sengalor Worldwide Masters on the Asian Tour. As I realize that we were in a good position in both the team and individual categories, I scribbled some reminders to help me focus on the task at hand:
– Stay focused on the present and do not get ahead of yourself.
– Nothing will upset or bother you today.
– Know when to take your medicine.
– Don’t worry about the score or where you stand on the leaderboard
– Since you’re playing the course for the very first time, don’t be too aggressive.
– Just enjoy the round and see what happens!
Despite the self-prep, the Kota Permai course bit hard. I started the round with a birdie on the very first hole.
On hole No. 3, I had a 30-foot uphill putt for another birdie. I hit it a tad too strong and the ball just kept on rolling, past the pin, and past the green into a deep valley.
I pitched to the fringe and three-putted for a whopping triple bogey!
It dawned on me that this was the first time to play on 11 speed greens! It was going to be that kind of day for the rest of the round. On top of that, Marshalls were on hand at every corner egging us to speed up play.
I just had to remind myself that this was a marathon and not a race, and that if I could somehow keep the blow-ups to a minimum, I would still be in the hunt.
Day Four (Final Day): Disappointed with my previous day’s 81 at Kota Permai, I wanted to end the tournament on a strong note and just see what happens. We capped the tournament at the Templer Park Country Club, host of the Malaysian Open thrice in the past and known as the “Garden of Eden” due to its scenic natural beauty.
The day proved to be eventful.
Our bus taking us to the majestic course took a wrong turn which led to an additional 45 minute ride and as a result, getting to the course 10 minutes past our 8 a.m. tee time.
What would’ve been a nice, relaxing one-hour warm-up turned out to be a 30-second mad dash to the 1st tee.
Coming off an 81 in Day Three (74 and 70 on Day One and Day Two, respectively) at Kota Permai and sliding to 4th place, four shots off the lead and trailing a Pole, a Czech and a Portugese, I knew I needed a good score in the final round to have a chance for a top three podium finish.
When we knew that we would be late for our tee time, I rehearsed my swing and routine in my mind knowing very well that there wouldn’t be any time to warm up once we got to the course.
The first four holes were anything but a good start.
I started off with a bogey-par-bogey-bogey run and was immediately 3-over par going into the fifth. On the fifth, I leaked my drive to the thick right rough.
A search soon ensued and a rules official began to time the search. After about two minutes, he gave us a final 30 seconds. I was ready to confront my fate and start walking back to the tee box to play a lost ball penalty – thinking momentarily that this could be a disastrous round—and kiss my chances of a podium finish for the Philippines goodbye.
But before I could do so, my playing partner Mickey Tan yelled “found it!”
That proved to be the breakthrough I needed to turn my game around. I proceeded to play the remaining 14 holes at 1-under par for a gross 74 (net 70) winning by three shots over the Czech in Division 1.
Another Filipino, Oliver Gan, finished strong and shot 71 to claim solo third place. My two-man PH team with Mickey finished 6th out of 74 teams.
I was satisfied with the way I finished but had no idea on where I stood on the leaderboard.
After the round, our Malaysian playing partner for the last day, Hung Nung Wong, a former number one Malaysian Amateur and former professional who competed at the highest levels of golf, volunteered to take us back to our hotel.
On the way he gave us a tour of KL and his home club, the prestigious Royal Sengalor Golf Club in the middle of the city.
All in all, the one week of golf competing in an international stage against serious competitors from other countries was a great experience. I was proud of how I was able to handle the four challenging courses and manage my emotions throughout the four days.
The victory was unexpected. When the emcee announced the winners, I had a good feeling about my chances for a podium finish but didn’t expect to win the division. When he announced my name as Champion of Division 1 followed by “from the Philippines”, there was an immediate sense of satisfaction, relief, and most of all pride that I had represented my country and won.
If it hadn’t been me, I would have just been as happy if someone else from our team had won it.
Now, I am hoping that I get the chance to defend the title next year and continue to bring glory to the Philippines.