Park is 2008 NMC Open champ

Joung Hoon Park bested a tough field in the men’s Championship Flight to win the 6th Annual NMC Foundation Open yesterday at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort.

Park tamed the west course of the Kagman golf facility shooting a three-over-par 75, to enjoy a two-shot lead over perennial title contender Jeff Taylor and Dan Singh, who battled it out for second place in a scorecard playoff.

Taylor and Singh both finished with a 77 but the former claimed second place via scorecard tiebreak while the latter settled for third.

Park also foiled last year’s champion Jess Wabol’s bid at winning a third straight NMC Foundation Open crown after the 2006 and 2007 titlist finished five shots back in fourth place with an 80.

Park came out on top in a tough Championship Flight group that included Taylor and Wabol. They were in the same group that teed off at 7am.

George Taguchi joined Wabol from fourth to fifth place as both of them shot an 80.

Other Championship Flight golfers were CNMI junior golfer Charlie Jo (82), Andy Nepaial (82), Manny Alvarez (83), Wan Sub Lee (94), and Gus Camacho (94).

Chang Kyun Kim matched Park’s score in the A Flight with a 75 to beat Ho Sung Lee. Dominic von Siebenthal placed third after beating Federico Flores in a scorecard playoff after both of them shot an 80.

Joe Demapan topped the B Flight beating three others by one stroke. Demapan scored a 78 to beat Ben Jones, Jay Muna, and teenage sensation Leina Kim.

Muna was knocked out after the first playoff hole to leave Jones and Kim fighting it out for second place. Jones bested Kim after the playoff at hole No. 2 to claim second place, while Kim settled for third.

The C Flight winner was Min Woo Kim with an 84, while Ray Villagomez ended up in second with an 85. John Terlaje needed a scorecard playoff to beat Frank Guerrero for third place as both of them shot an 87.

Tadashi Umezawa bested traditional Senior’s Flight winners Ed Manibusan, Lito Mendoza, Nick Sablan, and Steve Balakrishna. He fired the tournament’s best score of 74 for a five-shot win over Balakrishna’s 79.

Sablan and Manibusan needed a playoff for third place as both of them shot an 80 with Sablan winning over the former Superior Court associate judge.

Noriko Togawa fired a 75 to claim the Ladies Flight with Sook Chun Keum (78) and Yuko Togawa (82) finishing at second and third.

Me Ae Jeon was the second place finisher in the women’s double Peoria while Masayo Miyamoto came in second.

Freddie Cataluña topped the men’s double Peoria with Wabol getting some consolation after coming in at second. Yasuhito Irinaka completed the Top 3.

A total of 132 golfers joined the annual tournament with members of local golf associations and a number of off-island par-busters also competing and showing their support for the CNMI’s lone tertiary learning institution.