Former Junior World champion Jed Dy sets out for back-to-back National Doubles Amateur Golf Championship crown with a new partner but a slew of tandems likewise toughened up, guaranteeing a spirited title chase when the event is fired off beginning Friday at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club.
With Asian Games bronze medalist Bianca Pagdanganan as teammate, Dy ran away with a seven-stroke romp over Josh Jorge and Jet Hernandez last year but the Manila Golf Club bet braces for a tougher, crowded finish this time against a field ready and raring to close out the season with no less than a victory.
With Mikha Fortuna, however, Dy is assured of a solid player, who is a member of the Univ. of Oklahoma squad and winner of a number of junior tournaments abroad.
Pagdanganan, meanwhile, is now busy priming up for her LPGA Tour debut next month, boosting her stock by winning the individual gold medal in the recent SEA Games and power the Phl to the team championship.
But the rest of the 20-team cast in the National Doubles have also firmed up their rosters with reigning Indonesian Amateur Open titlist Luis Castro and Sean Ramos, members of the SEAG bronze medal team, teaming up with Andres Lorenzo and Gabby Macalaguim in the three-day event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation and organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, registration for the 2020 National Stroke Play Championship, set Jan. 7-10) at Riviera’s Langer course, is ongoing. For details, call NGAP at telefax No. (02) 7065926 or at Riviera Golf Club, Inc. at (02) 888-9089 or 0956-8821149 email ngap2009handicap@yahoo.com.
Focus will also be on the women’s pairs, led by reigning Phl Junior Amateur (match play and stroke play) champion Rianne Malixi and Precious Zaragosa, Laurea Duque and Eagle Ace Superal, Tomita Arejola and Nicole Abelar, and Sam Martirez and Diana Araneta.
Other pairs in the fold are Rald Sarmiento-Masaichi Otake, Paolo Barro-Jeff Jung, Zachary Castro-Miguel Ilas, Luigi Guerrero and Dan Cruz, Aldo Barro-Ivan Monsalve, Jonas Austria-Marco Olives, and Santino Diokno-Miguel Roque.
The field plays the four-ball (best ball) format in the first round with action shifting to aggregate on Saturday. Sunday’s final round will feature the two-ball foursomes.
Aside from the centerpiece Group I for members of national team and for players with handicap index of 4.0 or less, also on tap are the Group 2 (4.1 and above) and Group III (players 30-years-old-and-above regardless of handicap).
Leading the Group II cast are Franco Rivera-Mark Rivera, Gabby Rosca-Reese Ng, Christian Acero-Joseph Orbito, Sophia Blanco-Alexi Blanco, and Larry Patnongon-Jaime Patnongon while the pairs of Dexter Pelia-Titus Aguilar, Allan Rubrica-Dennis Nicomedes, Jimmy Suelo-Romeo Lopez, and Ricky Velasco-Ramon Capistrano lead the Group III field.