BIZ BUZZ: ‘Sandbagging’ taints golf tourney
Despite the cool breeze, tempers flared at the awarding ceremony of the much-awaited annual golf tournament organized by this upscale club in southern Metro Manila. Tension was especially high between two political dynasties that were seated at tables not too far apart from each other on Saturday.
The culmination of the eight-day tournament, featuring what should have been a “gentleman’s sport”—otherwise a leisurely event with great food and prizes that would have delighted the golf community—went awry as the integrity of the results was put in question.
As we speak, a video chronicling how the crowd booed the overall champion pair during the awarding night is making the rounds, tarnishing the reputation of the club.
A scion of the political dynasty and his father—who is an official of the organizing committee—are at the center of the member-guest pairing golf tourney controversy.
The son, who had registered a handicap of 24, ended up with a score that fellow participants found too good to be true. Many were convinced that there was “sandbagging.”
Tournament sources told Biz Buzz that the committee had initially agreed to bring down the handicap level of this scion from 24 to 17 (the lower handicap, the better the player) and this adjustment was even briefly posted on the website.
But as if it’s just a technical glitch, the posted handicap was immediately changed back to 24. Ergo, controversial scion and his partner managed to snag the highest award using such number.
“They adjusted the handicap and everybody saw that! Worse is that they even posted that on the official website. Mabuti sana kung walang nakakita (Good for them if nobody saw it). Then they brought it back to 24,” one source said.
“Everybody was rejoicing they adjusted, [thinking] they’re doing the right thing. But then they went back to the wrong thing,” the source added.
Thus, many of the participants suspect the dad’s hand in all these, that person being the vice chair of the organizing committee. Other sources wondered why the club had allowed this to happen.
Why didn’t this politician inhibit from the deliberation out of delicadeza? Did he coax the organizing committee to favor his son? Did the organizing committee members allow themselves to be influenced? These are the questions raised by multiple sources who recounted the event to us.
Whether or not the son had resorted to sandbagging, the organizers’ decision would have been more credible if the dad stayed out of the conversation. Those who complained about this matter were told to just keep their “kind understanding.”
On the other hand, many participants also thought that the runner-up wasn’t exactly worthy of the plum prize, as he was accused of participating with a golf pro as partner. A professional ID of this partner also circulated.
Needless to say, two political families have been both met with disdain online and offline, this incident having become the talk of the town.
But the disdain is apparently even greater for the politician dad, who even taunted the crowd when his son and the partner were announced as top winners. Doting daddy put his hand on his ears when people started to boo, as if to say: “I can’t hear you! Make it louder. Bring it on!.”
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