BACOLOD CITY- With a such a domineering performance at the 71st PAL Interclub Championship Division, no one would dare argue that Manila Southwoods is at par with some elite company.
Southwoods became only the third team to win four consecutive times in the country’s biggest and most prestigious amateur golf tournament, with a shot to match Canlubang’s historic five-year run from 2006-2010.
And non-playing team skipper Thirdy Escano is the first one to say that this can’t be done with just pure talent. A nondescript amount of preparation and a well-established program should be set to attain such a level of assertion.
Proof of this is Southwoods saving their best for last as they closed the competition with 146 points for a 72-hole 551 tally, 41 clear of Luisita, which led third placer Canlubang by eight. Del Monte remained in the doldrums with only 469.
“I knew who I was going to field today and I knew the boys would break 140,” an ecstatic Escano said. “Basta ang alam ko lang ay hindi kami lalaban na hindi kami prepared.”
“But if we still lost after playing that well, wala na ako magagawa, that’s beyond my control,” he added.
Unfortunately for those who trailed behind their tracks, that was far from materializing, owing to the impeccable team management of this Carmona-based team.
“This only goes to show that our grassroots program continues to work,” he said as the squad is set to lose pro-bound Jama Reyes and 70th PAL Interclub individual champ Tom Kim when they stake at the five-peat in Cebu next year.
But Escano is quick to point out that the team has enough firepower to continue their championship run for a couple more years.
“We have young, brilliant players still waiting for their chance to shine. We are committed to giving these players the break they need. We are simply giving back what the game of golf has given to us,” Escano shared. “They all delivered and I cannot ask for a better team.”
This year’s Interclub’s Platinum sponsors are RMN and Manila Times, while major sponsors are Mastercard, The Philippine Manila Standard, Rolls Royce, Bombardier, TV5, Primax, BusinessWorld, Crossover and Fox.
Other sponsors include Boeing, PAGCOR, Belmonte Hotel, Eton Properties and Asia Brewery, Inc.