144 golfers battle at 2022 #WeBelieve golf tourney

Rep. Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan) poses with Sen. Vinnie Sablan (R-Saipan) during last Saturday’s #WeBelieve Golf Tournament at the Coral Ocean Resort golf course. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

With perfect golf weather conditions, 144 golfers hit the links at Coral Ocean Golf Resort last Saturday for the 2022 #WeBelieve Golf Tournament, the signature fundraiser for Rep. Angel A. Demapan’s bid to fill one of two Saipan senatorial seats in the upcoming general election.

First held in 2020, the 2nd Annual #WeBelieve Golf Tournament was canceled in 2021 due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases that year. As a result, this past weekend’s tournament saw over 150 registered golfers eager to claim the top prize in the second consecutive sold out 2-man scramble golf tournament. Unfortunately, the maximum number of players the course can take is 144, preventing nearly a dozen golfers on the waitlist from entering the tournament.

At 8am, Demapan and tournament director Joey C. DelaCruz addressed the golfers before sending the teams out for tee off. They welcomed Team NMI Golf’s female gold medalist, Zhi Min Jin, and the bronze medal men’s team members, J.J. Atalig, Franco Santos, Joshua Atalig, and Zhi Li. They also recognized members of Team NMI Baseball’s gold medalists who were in attendance to support Demapan’s fundraiser.

“It was such an honor to have our hometown medalists in attendance to support the #WeBelieve campaign,” said Demapan. “What was also very humbling was to have players representing the islands of Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Northern Islands, and Guam.”

Demapan also thanked the forty hole sponsors for their support and generosity. “It was overwhelming to get so much support from our private sector partners and local families who signed up to be a hole sponsor,” added Demapan.

After four and a half hours of competition, the tournament banquet was held at poolside while scores were tabulated for low gross, double peoria, and the optional play contests.

The results are as follows:

Surprisingly, the top three teams all tied with a gross score of 65. This forced tournament organizers to resort to a scorecard playoff using the lowest handicap par 4 holes to determine which teams placed first, second and third. As a result, the team of Franco Santos and Harry Nakamura bagged the top prize of the tournament. Kazu Dela Cruz and Dominic Kieffer came in second, followed by Jin Fenchun and Ma Zekang.

Double Peoria winners were the following: 

1. Joey Cruz/Bill Quitano (67.60)
2. Glenn Maratita/Joel Hocog (69)
3. Shayne Villanueva/Jess Ramon (69)
The prizes for low gross and double peoria were $500, $300, and $200 for the first, second and third place, respectively.

In the optional play contests, the following individuals took home the prize for coming closest to the pin—Freddy Cataluna in hole No. 3, Zhi Xingkai in hole No. 7, Patrick Fitial in hole No. 12, and Shirlyn Jones in hole No. 14.

Ben Duenas bested all the other participants for most accurate Drive in hole No. 5 and Harry Nakamura went the distance to claim the longest drive in hole No. 18.

The golf course was lined up with banners displaying the names of sponsors at each hole. At the banquet, Demapan and his campaign chair Dave Attao recognized the hole sponsors and donors for their contribution and support. (PR)