MANILA, Philippines – Golfers showed off their skills for a good cause when they took part in the Men of St. Joseph (MSJ) – Santuario de San Jose Charity Golf Tournament 3 at the Wack Wack Golf & Country Club in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday.

A total of 56 male golfers competed on the West Course. Tee off was at 8 a.m.

Allan Alegre was the overall champion with a gross score (GRS) of 78, System 36 Handicap (HCP) of 8 and a NET of 70. He had 2 birdies and 8 pars.

The low gross champion, meantime, was Agustin Mata who had a GRS of 77.

Santuario de San Jose parish priest Fr. Noel Magtaas, OSJ (Oblates of St. Joseph) described the tournament, now on its third year, as a “spiritually prestigious” event because it has two beneficiaries.

Proceeds of the will be donated for the street children of Silong Tanglaw Center for street children along Araneta Avenue in Quezon City and the construction of the St. Joseph Pastoral Center for the poor of West Crame in San Juan City. Tournament fee was P3,500.

Three classes

The golfers were divided into three classes – A, B and C.

Class A was ruled by Henry Tan who carded a GRS of 80, HCP of 10 and NET of 70. Runner-up Jim Barnum had the same numbers but Tan prevailed because of his 2 birdies and 7 pars. Barnum had 2 birdies and 6 pars.

Sunny L. Tan emerged as the Class B champion with a GRS of 94, HCP of 23 and NET of 71. Danny Maquiraya was the runner-up after scoring a GRS of 95, HCP of 22 and NET of 73. Maquiraya had 3 pars, 8 bogeys, 6 double bogeys and last 9 = 45.

Vince dela Cruz was the Class C champion with a GRS of 100, HCP of 26 and NET of 74 while Maning Sian was the runner-up with a GRS of 103, HCP of 26 and a NET of 77. Sian made 4 pars.

The event was sponsored by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Mercury Drug Corporation, Bench, Stradcom and Jollibee. The golfers received freebies from Bench while some of them won raffle prizes.

Event organizers also gave special thanks to The Glass Garden, Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Co., Promac, The Plaza, Raymundo’s Trophies & Sculptures, and Pacsports.

The tournament is part of the parish's preparation for the feast of St. Joseph on March 19.

Mental game

The project director of the MSJ – Santuario de San Jose Golf Tournament 3 is MSJ head servant leader Raymund Atendido. He has been the project director of the tournament since 2008.

Atendido, a former Philippine junior golf (jungolf) champion in the late 1970s, said that the sport boasts of being a mental game. He has been playing golf for more than 35 years.

“Even if you’re a good hitter, if you can’t manage the game well, you won’t win,” he told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

He said there are some instances when players do not know how to manage the score in the game wherein the lowest score wins.

Manny Sta. Cruz, one of the MSJ leaders, also talked about the “very challenging” sport.

He stressed the mental aspect of the game by saying, “You just don’t hit the ball. There are a lot of clubs, a lot of shots that you can do.”

Sta. Cruz was the 1st runner-up in last week’s 21st Bill Shaw Golf Classic in Wack Wack with a GRS of 84. He has been playing golf for almost 40 years. – Report by Ma. Rosanna Mina, abs-cbnNEWS.com