Yumul, Palacios are February’s finest

Ralph Yumul and Glenna Palacios lorded it over the field in last Sunday’s Fil-Taga Golfers Association February Ace of the Month Tournament held at the Marianas Country Club.

Yumul won the A Flight after shooting a net score of six-under 66. The Jollibee Saipan general manager sports a 13 handicap and recorded a gross score of 79.

William Retardo, Edgar Abalos, and Albert Pajarillaga all wound up with identical net scores of one-under 71, but Retardo took the second-place plum after finishing with a superior score on the tiebreak.

A 10-handicap golfer, Retardo came away with a gross score of 81. Abalos and Pajarillaga, meanwhile, shot 84 and 87 gross scores, respectively.

It was a four-way tie in fifth to eights places, as Lito Mendoza, Jess Aldan, James Lim, and last month’s champion, Sen. Pete Reyes, all carded two-over 74s.

The order of the finish, based again on their gross scores, was Mendoza (81), Aldan (83), Lin (83), and Sen. Reyes (88).

The rest of the players in A Flight, with their net score in parenthesis, were as follows: Joe Miranda (85); Mando Guban (76); Mike Cruz (77); Gil Faller (78); Jhun Calma 79); Jess Yumul (82); Rey Ferraz (83); Harry Kang (83); George Sablan (83); Douglas Puckett (87), Danny Mejia (92); Eui Yang (94); Tae Yung Lee (102); Larry Guerrero (118).

Mejia, Yang, Lee, and Guerrero are new members and their handicaps haven’t been computed yet.

Palacios, for her part, nipped Nono Bostre for the monthly championship in B Flight.

The lady golfer fired a superb net score of eight-under 64 to beat Bostre by a single stroke. A 36 handicap, Palacios shot a gross score of 100. Bostre came up with a 96 gross.

Lewie Adams and Don Dolenec finished in a dead-heat for the third spot with identical four-under 68s, but the latter took home second with his 88 gross. Dolenec had 100 without his handicap.

Greg De Torres finished alone in fifth place with his two-under 70 after firing a gross score of 101.

The rest of the players in B Flight, with their net scores in parenthesis, were as follows: Domeng Cariaso (77); Cesar Dumatol (77); Nestor Siruelo (79); Tom Aguon (79); Henry Bautista (80); Manuel Villaga (80); Ernie Lopez (81); Freddie Catalina (82); Edgardo “Puy” Macario (84); Jun “Tiger” Dela Cruz (86), and last month’s winner Rene Batallones (90).

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 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.

For more information Fil-Taga’s monthly tournaments and its season-ending Golfer of the Year Tournament, contact president Ted Malaran at 322-1234 or 287-1227.