Lee defends Hyatt golf title

Hyatt Regency Saipan’s 22nd Annual Charity Golf Classic Championship Flight winner Edward Lee, second left, joins runner-up Daryl Poe, left, third placer Freddie Cataluna, third left, and Hyatt Regency Saipan general manager Nick Nishikawa, right, for a group photo during last Saturday’s awards banquet at the hotel’s pool side. (Jon Perez)

Edward Lee doesn’t mind playing with guys older than him, as he has gotten used to the occasional friendly banter every time he beats them in regular tournaments on the island.

The 14-year-old CNMI junior golfer once again prevailed against his veteran opponents as he was at his best form to rule the Hyatt Regency Saipan’s 22nd Annual Charity Golf Classic held last Saturday on the west course of the Laolao Bay Golf & Resort.

Lee finished the one-day tournament with a 77 to lead the list of winners in the fundraising tournament and successfully defend the title he won last year when he beat Freddie Cataluna.

“They always make fun of me, just friendly jokes,” Lee told Saipan Tribune moments after receiving his second straight White Bathrobe, the tournament’s own version of the Green Jacket given to the winner of the Masters at Augusta National.

“They always tease me if I make a difficult shot, have under par or bogey-free rounds, and most of the time if I beat them,” Lee added with a laugh.

This was Lee’s third straight title since winning a pair of tournaments in one month—the low gross in the Marianas International Cup and Club Lao Charity Golf Tournament in November last year.

Daryl Poe, last year’s third placer, finished second behind the Dandan Middle School student Lee after ending up with a 79, while Cataluna this time settled for third with an 81.

Joe “Kamikaze” Camacho and Nick Sablan ended up with 77s in the Senior Flight, but the former ruled the division after the scorecard playoff. Attorney General Edward Manibusan was third with an 81.

Motoko Onishi (65.4), Lorraine Babauta (68.4), and Mimi Salinas (70.2) were the Top 3 finishers in the Ladies Flight, while Takahashi Tsujimura (72), Takeshi Nishiyama (74), and Saipan’s Tim Goodwin (78) duplicated the feat in the A Flight.

Das Krishnan (81), Albert Pajarillaga (82), and Sung Man Cho (85) were the Top 3 winners in the B Flight, while Wei Bin Yu (86), Frank Castro (90), and Ryuji Oishi (90) made it to the podium in the C Flight. Castro defeated Oishi in the scorecard playoff.

Meanwhile, The Center for Living Independently in the CNMI, the Dandan Middle School STEM Club, Salvation Army, Saipan Paddling Club, 670 Sonics, and Make-A-Wish Foundation Guam and CNMI are the recipients of the proceeds from this year’s tournament.