Atalig, Dela Cruz rule Chamber golf tourney

J.J. Atalig Joey and Dela Cruz came out the low gross winners in the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s 4th Annual Holiday Golf Tournament held Saturday at Coral Ocean Point.

The duo tallied a 31 on the front nine and came to the clubhouse with a 32 on the back for a field-low gross 63 and topped the two-person scramble competition.

They also finished first place in the low-net category, but by default the prize was issued to Adam Hardwicke and Jeff Taylor who had 34s on the front and back nines for a raw score of 68 that was good enough for the nod, despite not electing to incur a handicap.

Meanwhile, Jeon Mi Ae and Lee Young Hi scratched 37s on both the front and back nines for a gross card of 74 that calculated into a ladies division field-low net of 69.2.

Other low gross finishers included runners-up Park Joung Hoon and Jason Yi who came up a stroke short on the back nine after keeping pace with the frontrunners for the majority of the round, and third placers Thompson Palik and Seung Woo Kang, who had a gross card of 65.

The men’s low-net second placers were Ned Norita and Joe Suarez, who grossed a 67 that factored into a net 69.4, while Ed Manibusan and Nick Sablan rounded out the Top 3 with a raw 72 that adjusted into a 69.6 net score.

Noriko Togawa and Terry Guerrero took second place in the women’s field with a gross score of 72 and 70.8 net, while two other pairs were awarded third place after Jeon and Lee’s names were mistakenly included with the men’s results list and the prize packages were already presented before organizers found the error. As a result, Sherlyn Jones and Lorraine Babauata along with Abe Kimiko and Masayo Miyamoto were both awarded third place prizes.

Jones and Babauta turned in a 75 gross card that adjusted into a 72.6 net tally, while Kimiko and Miyamoto recorded a gross card of 79 that worked into a 73 net score.

In addition, Babauta won the longest drive challenge on Hole No. 10, while Palik’s tee shot on Hole No. 7 rested just two feet and a half-inch from the cup for closest to the pin honors. Babauta won a $100 cash prize with a $50 fuel card, while Thompson took a round-trip ticket to Japan provided by Delta Airlines. Unfortunately there were no hole-in-one winners.

A $600 cash prize was awarded to all first place winners, while $300 and $200 went to second and third placers. Seventy golfers joined the event which will have its proceed going to the Education Committee to help provide scholarships to five worthy students going to colleges here or off island. Earnings will also be used to help fund educational workshops that volunteer chamber members conduct to help promote business etiquette.