Fighting Maroons take honor of being first champs
Joshua Buenaventura fired a three-under-par 69 and Miggy Roque backed him up with a 77 on Friday as the opening salvo in the ICTSI Intercollegiate Tour went to the University of the Philippines-1’s way at Royal Northwoods in Bulacan.
The Fighting Maroons took the limelight away from the La Salle-Ateneo rivalry as the Green Archers, behind Zach Castro’s 71 and Jose Lorenzo Flores’ 79 finished second four shots behind and the Blue Eagles third another shot back.
Ricardo Joson fired an ace-spiked 73 to lead Ateneo’s 151, with Matthew Mendoza shooting a 78 as the event got off the ground in earnest, where each school fielded three players with only the top two scores counting.
“The campus battle was really nice, especially with this being our first victory. It feels pretty good,“ the 20-year-old Buenaventura, also the individual champion, said. “Hopefully, we’ll do even better in the next round. We have high expectations, and with more training, we’re aiming for another championship.”
In the women’s division, La Salle-1’s Julia Lua fired an 84 to edge UP-1’s Adrienne Manhit by three strokes and become the inaugural women’s individual champion of the tour, developed by the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and the Philippine Golf Foundation.
But it was Ateneo-1 that clinched the women’s team title, with Monique Mendoza and Simi Tinio turning in rounds of 89 and 90 for a 179 total, seven strokes ahead of La Salle-1’s Lua and Janine Yusay, who combined for a 186.
The men’s tour resumes with Round 2 on July 27 at Splendido Taal. The women’s division returns on Aug. 9 at Caliraya Springs in Cavinti, Laguna, with Round 3 for both set at Pradera Verde on Aug. 11.
