Kieffer is top golfer in NMC Golf Open

Championship Flight winner Dominic Kieffer chips in from the green in Day 2 of the NMC Golf Open last Sunday at the Lao Lao Bay Golf & Resort. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

It’s rare that a Championship Flight winner gets upstaged in the NMC Golf Open, but Dominic Kieffer is taking it all in stride.

The 29-year-old GHD Inc. staff engineer said while it would’ve been cool to win a brand new car, he’s just happy to be progressing in his golf game after shooting a two-round score of 2-over 146 last Saturday and Sunday at the Lao Lao Bay Golf & Resort.

Kieffer went 4-over in Day 1 of the competition with a 76 after even 36s in the front nine and back nine, which included 10 pars.

The member of Sakati Golf Crew upped his game in Day 2, shooting a 2-under 70. He evened the first nine holes for a 36 before going on a hot streak on the second for a 34. 

While he maintained his 10 pars, he supplemented it with birdies in holes No. 12, 14, 15 and an amazing eagle in hole No. 5.

“I made an eagle on hole No. 5. It’s a short par-4 so I hit it up near the green and then chipped it in,” he said.

Kieffer, who first picked up a golf club when he was just 3 years old, said the 2023 NMC Golf Open Tournament couldn’t have been organized any better.

“It was fantastic. The golf course was in such good shape. The greens were very fast and I think all the players can attest that the pins were very difficult. But the Lao Lao Bay Golf & Resort staff did a wonderful job of setting up the golf course and the NMC Foundation did a wonderful job setting up the golf tournament. We had a lot of very enthusiastic people to greet us and we had a lot of fun. It was a great day!” 

For winning the Championship Flight, Kiefer pocketed $500, which he said will be used to buy his plane ticket to Guam where he, like other NMC Golf Open flight winners, received an automatic free entry into the 2023 Tourism Cup.

Coming in second in the Championship Flight is Guam’s Louie Sunga, who fired a 6-over 150, while Gi Yeong Kim completed the Top 3 with his 8-over 152. They received $300 and $200, respectively, for their runner-up finishes. 

In the A Flight, Ned Norita forever bid adieu to the division after shooting a 156. He was followed by Enoch Lim with his 164, which is the score posted by Kiwan “Michael” Nam. The former, however, edged the latter in scorecard tiebreaker. Like in the Championship Flight, A Flight winners went home with $500, $300, and $200, respectively.

John L. Terlaje made history in Day 1 of the tourney when he hit a hole-in-one in hole No. 5 to win a brand new 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 5 SEL from Triple J Motors worth over $60,000.

Results of the other divisions of the NMC Golf Open will be published in the next editions of the Saipan Tribune.