Golf in UAAP a solid platform for local bets
With the end goal of keeping elite student golfers in the country rather than losing them to scholarships abroad, golf in the UAAP seems to be a great tool, with the governing National Golf Association of the Philippines (UAAP) throwing full backing on the project.
“It is time we create equivalent opportunities within the Philippines,” an NGAP statement said on Tuesday night. “With golf gaining remarkable traction in recent years—especially in the wake of the pandemic—we must seize this opportunity to formalize competitive local structures that nurture our homegrown talent.
“The integration of golf into the UAAP not only broadens the sport’s reach but also creates a vital platform for student-athletes to compete at a high level—right here on home soil.”
Colleges in the United States have been the target of many local student-amateurs, who are often scouted in international junior events like the Junior Worlds and the Futures Golf Championships.
The UAAP coming into the picture assures that those students will have the platform to show their wares, and some sort of funding for their training, which the US colleges provide while they are there.
US colleges have recruited big talents like Rianne Malixi, the country’s top amateur, to play in the US NCAA next year. Malixi, who saw action in the men’s Philippine Open last January, will be playing for two years at Duke before trying her luck in the LPGA.
