LARRY Tojino made the most of tough conditions at the Eagle Ridge Golf & Country Club in General Trias, Cavite, to outclass a record field of 355 players and win the 2006 Mabuhay Miles Elite Invitational Golf Tournament organized by Philippine Airlines over the weekend.
Tojino, chief executive officer of Veincare Clinic in Pasig City, scored a gross 75 at the challenging Andy Dye course to emerge low gross champion, while three-time former titlist Valeriano Floro carded a net 69 on a gross round of 83 to take overall net honors this time.
The two bested a field of CEOs, top professionals and other captains of industry -- all Elite and Premier Elite members of PAL's Mabuhay Miles program -- who competed in the event sponsored by adidas, Airbus, Boeing, GE Aviation, HSBC, Mizuno and Petron Corp.
It was a difficult day for the players, who all struggled with the demanding, world-class courses designed by Dye, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman. Gross scores soared well into the eighties and nineties as the arduous, canyon-spiced layouts took their toll.
Tojino himself was plagued by 13 bogeys but more than made up for these with two birdies to go along with 12 pars, the most of any participant.
Floro, scion of the famous sporting clan and winner of this event from 2001-2003, fired three birdies and four pars, but also had eight bogeys. He finished one stroke better than Honolulu-based Elpidio Andres, who settled for the Class A title with a net 70 from a gross 84.
Ferdinand Agustin, president of Lyncor Inc., and Bryan Cockrell, president of Pathfinder Group, both actually tied Andres with net 70s but they had lower handicaps and wound up first and second runner-up, respectively, in Class A.
The tournament had as corporate sponsors Allied Bank, Department of Tourism, LG Electronics, Panasonic Avionics, Smart Communications and Wide Wide World Express/DHL.
American Express Bank, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cross, Nestle Philippines, Pacific Paint (Boysen), Spring, Tanduay Distillers, U-Freight Philippines and Visa International were the event's minor sponsors.
Over at the Faldo course, Class B likewise produced a three-way tie at the top with Masahito Hamaguchi, Wilfred Pacpaco and Marvin Caparros all finishing with a net 71. Their handicaps settled the placing in that order.
It was the same story in Class C, played at the Norman course, where all three top finishers submitted identical net 71s. The division crown was won by Cebu's Armando Serafin, president of Insuphil Industrial Corp., over architect Daniel Go and realtor Severino Oliva.
Class D was topped by Richard Santos, vice president of Cinderella Marketing, with a net 70 over Alfonso Santiago, managing director of Airlift Asia, who carded a 72, and Los Angeles-based Fernando Sison, who submitted a 73.
Elvira Liboro, treasurer of AE&E Development Corp., ruled the ladies' division with an impressive 75 out of a gross 93 while Venjo Reyes, Jr. took the guests' division with a net 68 from a gross 80.
Century Park Hotel was the official hotel of the tournament, Philam Insurance the official insurer and Toyota Motor Philippines the hole-in-one sponsor.
Prize donors included Air BP, Asia Brewery, Best Western San Mateo, Boracay Regency Beach Resort, Cinderella Marketing Corp., Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, Guam Visitors Bureau, Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Marco Polo Cebu, Marco Polo Davao, Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort, Microtel Inns & Suites, Pan Pacific Manila, Premier Wine & Spirits, Samsonite and Xytron International.
