Oliver gets for more for less in MTEC

Sasaki Oliver emerged from a field of 13 Championship Flight duffers to win the 2nd Annual Marianas Tourism Education Council Golf Tournament at the LaoLao Bay Golf Resort this weekend.

Oliver got the most out of his arsenal of clubs on Saturday, as the local legend of the links landed a 34 on the front nine of Laolao West and a 35 on the back nine to finish the one-day affair with a three-under par 69. Oliver got the most amount of cash for the least amount of swings, as he walked away with $400 in prize money for his sub-par performance.

The champion of the champions hit the lowest nine hole total to start the day, one that only second-place finisher Eddie Peter was able to match when he notched a 34 to close out his final nine holes. Unfortunately for Peter, it was not low enough to make up for his 38 on the opening nine holes.

Peter finished the day at par with a 72 to fend off the winner from last year’s Tournament of Champions Joe “Kamikaze” Camacho, who finished seven strokes off the pace with a 76.

A total of 65 golfers participated in the tournament, and Kuribayasi took down 17 of the best in the A Flight, as he hit a 36-37 73 to take the $400 in prize money for finishing with the lowest score. Irinaka Yasuiro and Joe Demapan took second and third respectively with scores of 76, and as Yasuiro hit a 38 on each of his nine holes, Demapan spiked and slid as he hit a 36-40 to get his total.

Of the 12 participants in the B Flight, James Balajadia walked away with the $400 purse for hit low score of 78, while Cliff Golding of Australia grabbed second with a 45-38 83, and Ben Jones recorded a 45-44 89.

Jess Guerrero reaped the rewards of finishing first in the C Flight with a 41-42 83 on the day, and also pocketed $400 for handily dispatching out the remaining 17 duffers. Second place went to Luis Camacho who finished the round with a 47-44 91 to edge third place finisher Mark Moss by two strokes at 43-49 92.

The Ladies flight saw Noriko Togawa the $400 first prize with a 37-38 75, followed by second place Shiori Onoue with a 42-44 86 and third place Yuko Togawa with a 44-49 93. The only other lady golfer in the tournament won the low gross award, as Aya Matsumoto scored a 45-45 90 on the day.

While plenty of chances were available, none of the Strikers possessed the right combination of skill and luck stand to gain one of the four Hole-In-One prizes, including either one of the two vehicles from Triple J Motors and Joeten Motors.

For more information about the 2nd Annual MTEC Golf Tournament, contact MTEC committee members Jeff Taylor by calling 483-5338, Jon Cramer at 234-7976, Ben Babauta at 483-2563, or Mark Swinton at 234-6412.