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Cruz bags SGA September Ace
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Posted on Nov 20 2020
In this file photo, John “Nani” Cruz, standing fourth left, poses with his fellow Saipan Golfer Association players during the 2017 SGA Ace of Aces tournament at the Laolao Bay Golf & Resort. (Contributed Photo)
John “Nani” Cruz shot a net 76 at the Laolao Bay Golf & Resort earlier this month to clinch the Saipan Golfers Association’s September Ace.
The 17-handicapper recorded a 40 on the front nine and a 43 on the back for a gross 66 on the west course of the Kagman facility and a five-shot win in the Nov. 8 competition. Jung Eun Teack and Rick Kautz joined Cruz in the Top 3 as the former delivered a net 71 and the latter recorded a net 72. The 14-handicapper Teack duplicated Cruz’s score in the first nine holes and tallied a 45 in the last nine for a gross 85. Kautz, a 10-handocapper, struggled on the front nine with his 43, but made up for the slow start with his 39 on the back for a gross 82.
Kautz also hit one of the two longest drives (on the par-5, 478-yard hole No. 18) in the tournament, while Das Krishnan achieved the same feat in No. 2—another par-5 hole, but longer at 510 yards.
In the closest to the pin contest, Krishnan made it to the winners’ list, too, with his PK on the par-3, 189-yard No. 3. Joe Sablan, Manny Alvarez, and Larry Deleon Guerrero were the others players who made closest to the pin shots on par-3 holes. Sablan did it on the 160-yard No. 7, Alvarez on the 158-yard No. 13, and Deleon Guerrero on the 180-yard No. 17.
Meanwhile, with Cruz getting the September Ace he also gained entry to the SGA Ace of Aces (club championship), joining early qualifiers Attorney General Edward Manibusan (January Ace), Teack (February), Nick Sablan (March), Juan “Pan” Guerrero (April), Krishnan (May), Larry Deleon Guerrero (June), Steve Balakrishna (July), and Edward Sablan (August).
Only three more slots are at stake for SGA’s season-ending competition and one will be up for grabs this Sunday when the group holds the November Ace tournament on the east course of Laolay Bay Golf & Resort. The November Ace event will also double as SGA’s Turkey Shootout.
