TRIUMPHANT TRIO
Gary Sales. Matet Salivio. Abe Rosal.
Call them the cream of the crop, with two of them—Sales and Salivio—now legends of Inquirer Golf’s National Tournament of Club Champions (NTCC).
Rosal, with several more years of good play still left in him, is on the way to becoming one himself.
The three standouts came out on top of their respective divisions after five grueling days of fine play over the four courses of the Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Trece Martirez, Cavite, playing in a trailblazing event aimed at crowning the best club champions in the country.
For Sales and Salivio, they now have a combined seven championships, with Salivio pocketing her fourth ladies crown after not seeing the final three holes in any of her matches.
Sales, meanwhile, pocketed a third Men’s championship after outsteadying the best his field had to offer, with his final match against Ace Stehmeier going down as “possibly the toughest I ever played.”
Rosal, meanwhile, made his first appearance in Senior play as a 63-year-old and “happy grandfather of one,” and played five straight rounds for the first time in years. This was also his first significant match play tournament since the late 1990s, when he lost in the semifinals of the Philippine Amateur to eventual champion Artemio Murakami.
In the end, the tournament achieved its purpose, with those who triumphed certainly deserving of all the accolades and all of them itching to come back next year to do it again and add to their legacies.
“It certainly wasn’t an easy run,” Sales, who turns 43 in December, told the Inquirer in Filipino after a 4&3 win over Stehmeier, which Sales said was far more difficult than what the final score would suggest.
“He is one of the toughest, smartest players I ever played [in match],” the businessman Sales—who represented the military-operated Villamor course again—added, paying tribute to the foe he conquered. “Winning over him certainly makes this [third championship] special. Because I was able to prove to myself that I still had it in me.”
Stehmeier played this event even after the thought of withdrawing at the veritable 11th hour, citing poor form after failing to defend his Alabang title that got him to play in the NTCC.
Rosal beat Rodel Mangulabnan, a two-time Men’s champ seeking a second Senior title, 5&4, as the Canlubang Sugar Baron in the Philippine Airlines Interclub played with vintage brilliance all week.
“I was surprised at how strong I felt out there,” Rosal said with a huge laugh as he also gave kudos to Mangulabnan for a tournament well played. “Rodel and I had a lot of competitive fun out there.
“There was never the animosity of being match play rivals,” he added. “The intensity was there, but there was definitely camaraderie during our match. I had a great time.”
Salivio, the Camp Aguinaldo ace, bundled out Roh Kyung-ae, 4&3, in the finals, to become the winningest participant in the long history of the tournament.
The NTCC was presented by Lexus with Eagle Ridge, the Philippine Golf Foundation and Sta Lucia Land as event partners. Major sponsors were Netforce International Inc., TW Steel, The Turf Company/Club Car and Federation of Golf Clubs Philippines, Inc. Minor sponsors were Aqua Terra Januarius Holdings Inc., Event Captain Inc., Filigree, G&W Clubshares, Inc., GG&A Club Shares Brokers, Inc., National Golf Association of the Philippines, Timecargo Logistics Corporation and Chefs Corp.
