Pascual, Po top December tourney

Larry Pascual and Manny Po topped the A and B divisions, respectively of the Filtaga Golfers Association’s December Ace held over the weekend at the Marianas Country Club in Marpi.

Pascual scratched a 44 on the front nine and finished with a 45 on the back for a gross total of 89. His 14-handicap left him with a net card of 75 to top the club’s A division. In all, he managed six pars in the round that went with four double bogeys.

Pascual actually finished in 10th place out of a total field of 27, but the higher ranked players were either ineligible for the FilTaga Golfer of the Year event or have already qualified for the event for being past aces.

Po, for his part, managed a 43 on the first nine holes and pulled into the clubhouse with a 45 on the back for an 88 gross tally. His 19-handicap factored into his 69 net score that was good enough to lead the B division. Po managed five pars with four double bogeys in his round.

Po actually finished second place overall in the division behind $150 cash prizewinner Nazareno “Jun” Ortiz, who already won earlier in the year.

Ortiz marked a 41 at the turn and finished the back with a 42 for a raw score of 83, which calculated into a field-low 68. He came away with eight pars with no double bogeys.

Former aces Raffy Piamonte (B-October), Adoni Matutino (A-January), Dennis Sebastian (A-August), and Rick Kautz (A-May) finished in fifth, sixth, seventh, and ninth place, respectively.

Meanwhile, Randy Tudela, Joseph Fernandez, and Hiroyuki Toyoshima finished third, fourth, and eighth place, but had not competed in enough events to be eligible for the finale.

Other former A-division aces include, February’s Freddie Cataluna, March’s Leo Ganacias, April’s William Retardo, July’s Jacinto Ramones, September’s Alstree Chiong, October’s Manny Alvarez, and November’s Ruben Avendano.

Former B Division aces include January’s Richard Meimban, February’s Richard Atalig, March’s John Matsumoto, April’s Ortiz, May’s Ted Malaran, June’s James Mitchell, July’s Dan Ganacias, August’s Sandy Palon, and September’s Ernie Lopez.

There is no difference between being an A or B division ace as, by rule, organizers simply divide the golfers into two groups if there are more than 20 participants in an event.

The two-day, season-ending tournament is slated for January. The official locations and tee times are still being confirmed but one thing is for sure, $300 cash and bragging rights on the year will go to the winner.

For more information, visit FilTaga’s website at www.filtaga.com.