Truly, Golf is a sport where success is never a matter of opinion. There are no cases of referees making controversial calls or judges asserting their respective personal biases. Here, the only determinant is the score that each player or team posts. There is no gray area as to who is the clear winner or loser. To win a Golf tournament means to irrefutably be considered as the best for the duration of the competition. It is in such an environment where De La Salle University- Manila has continually proven to be successful.
On January 18, 2009, La Salle successfully defended their title in the Philippine Golf Foundation- National Intercollegiate Golf Championship. The tournament season, which stretched for four months with different colleges from the Philippines slugging it out for the overall title, was a tedious and impassioned experience for all who were involved. The tournament was a home and away match play series with each team having a respective home course. There would be two formats to be played- Best Ball and High/Low with each team fielding two players per match.
When the smoke from the regular season cleared, two teams remained standing: perpetual rivals La Salle and Ateneo. The finals was a two day event. The format would be the same with the venues being the home courses of each team.
The first round of the finals was held at DLSU's home, Sherwood Hills. Here, the team capitalized on their homecourt advantage as their power lineup of Miko Yee and Allan Guy for Best Ball and Charles Hong and Justin Limjap for High/Low took their matches swiftly and with authority (Best Ball- 5 and 4, High/Low- 7 and 5). This gave the team a pretty comfortable lead going into January 18. All they needed to do was tie one match to win the championship.
However, Ateneo did not want to go home without a fight. Especially when the final round of the season was to be played at their home course of Splendido. With the same players from both teams being fielded, the Best Ball match went wire to wire all the way to the last hole. Here, Miko Yee stepped up to the plate and made a clutch putt for birdie thus giving La Salle the match and ensuring a successful title defense. The crowd roared as the ball rolled into the hole. Not to be ignored, Charles Hong and Justin Limjap won their High/Low match 2 and 1. It was Hong and Limjap's last game as members of the college team as both of them are scheduled to graduate before the next season starts. Definitely, it was a fitting end to their flawless records as college athletes.
And so, every Lasallian present (players and spectators), raised their hands and voices as the trophy was securely in their possession. It was the biggest turnout of Lasallian support for the Golf team yet. Through the efforts of passionate Lasallians, DLSU Golf is now one of the most successful college sports teams. With each championship, Team La Salle, moreover, Philippine College Golf, is slowly gaining in popularity. This championship looks to serve as another milestone in the development of college Golf in the country and without question, La Salle is leading the charge.
The Championship Contingent:
Team Manager: Ferdie Atendido
Coach: Jun Cedo
Team Student Manager: Jed Bautista
DLSU Team Captain: Justin Limjap
DLSU Team Co-Captain: Charles Hong
DLS- CSB Team Captain: Jared Sanson
Team Consultants: Jay Alvarez and Jorge Paez
Team DLSU
1. Justin Limjap (Captain)
2. Charles Hong (Co-Captain)
3. Miko Yee
4. Allan Guy
5. Marlo Capinianes
6. Migol Marcelo
7. Fern Zaldarriaga
8. Tristan Laxa
9. Rhiz De Roca
10. Ernest Platon
Supporting members: Hsin- Yu Chan, Jyra Wong, Valerie Ong, Joe Hermoso, Nico Sevilla, Carlo Ponce, Carlo Talatala, Jean Magsino, Jake Dungca, John Fuentes, Jed Bautista
Team DLS- CSB
1. Jared Sanson (Captain)
2. Marco Olives
3. Jordan Mamaril
4. Hannah Wong
5. Mac Arevalo
6. Bart Locsin
7. Jojie Pajara
written by Jed Bautista
