Miranda, Corcuera are Fil-Taga’s best in June

The Fil-Taga Golfers Association declared Joe Miranda and Father Manny Corcuera Ace of the Month winners for June.

The two won their respective divisions in the tournament that was held within the Philippine Independence Day Golf Tournament last June 13 at the Coral Ocean Point Resort golf course.

Miranda topped A Flight with a superb net score of six-under 66. A handicap 13 golfer, the Marianas Country Club employee finished with a gross score of 79.

Just two shots off Miranda’s output was Gil Faler, who shot a four-under 68 to place second in A Flight. He fired a gross score of 81.

Third place went to NMC Foundation Open B Flight third placer Mike Cruz, who was just three shots off the monthly champion with a net score of three-under 69. Cruz finished with a gross score of 85.

Lito Mendoza and Douglas Puckett closed out the first five positions with their net scores of 70 and 71, respectively. Puckett actually was tied with three other players but won via scorecard tiebreak.

The top 10 in A Flight, with their scores in parenthesis, are as follows: Jess Aldan (71); Ted Malaran (71); Jess Yumul (72); Albert Pajarillaga (73); and William Retardo (75).

A total of 21 golfers signed in for the competition in A Flight.

Father Corcuera, for his part, bested 12 other golfers in B Flight. The 13th player—Glenna Palacios—actually finished with the best net score of the day but since she already won the RP Independence Day tourney, the June ace of the month title was given to the second in line.

And that happened to be the parish priest of San Vicente, who came up with a one-under 71 net score to win the division.

Three shots behind was defending association Golfer of the Year Nestor Siruelo, who checked in with a net score of two-under 74.

Department of Public Work’s Jun “Tiger” Dela Cruz finished in third place with three-over 75, while Sandy Palon and Greg De Torres completed the top five with net scores of 77 and 81, respectively.

The top 10 in B Flight, with their scores in parenthesis, are as follows: Don Dolenec (84); Ben Sablan (88); KJ Semikian (90; Jojo Dadivas (91); Henry Bautista (gross score of 94).

Fil-Taga also welcomed new members Palon, Bautista, Kim Kyonam, Cesar Dumatol, and Ed Macario during last month’s tournament.

Last May, Albert Pajarillaga and Nestor Siruelo tamed the long fairways and fast greens of the Marianas Country Club to win the tournament. Pajarillaga cornered A Flight, while Siruelo was tops in B Flight.

Ralph Yumul and his father Jess are the first two qualifiers for the 2004 yearend tournament. Ralph won the January ace of the month title, while Jess was the champion in February.

In March, William Retardo and Ted Malaran emerged victorious to win the A and B Flights, respectively. April champions were Harry Kang (A Flight) and Glenna Palacios (B Flight).

Established in 1993, Fil-Taga’s tournaments operate under a computer-controlled handicap system that creates parity among players in the A and B Flights.

A Fil-Taga Ace of the Month champion (A and B Flight) is crowned monthly. Regular tournaments are scheduled once a month, normally every third Sunday. Green fees are in the $35 to $40 price range for most tournaments.