Aidric Chan and Junia Gabasa gear up for a fierce duel with the best of the rest while a mix of young, promising players seek to grab the spotlight in the 2019 Philippine Junior Amateur Open Golf Championship slated April 2-5 at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Trece Martires, Cavite.
Chan, who has posted a number of low amateur honors in the country’s pro circuit, goes all out for one title in his final year in the junior ranks as he faces a slew of young but talented rivals, led by Sean Ramos and Josh Jorge, in the centerpiece Albatross (15-18) division of the stroke play competition serving as leg of the PLDT Group National Amateur Tour.
Ramos, 15, claimed two victories last year, ruling the Cangolf Am Open in wire-to-wire fashion then nipping the 16-year-old Jorge, a former winner of the Veritas World Junior Golf International in California, for the NGAP’s Northern Luzon Regional plum at Beverly Place in Pampanga.
Others tipped to vie for the crown in the event, sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, PLDT Group, Cignal and Metro Pacific, are Carl Corpus, Paolo Wong, Joaquin Barro, Joaquin Gomez and Jacob Rolida, both 17, David Guangko, Rald Sarmiento and Joachim Yu, all 15, and Riggs Illescas, Masaichi Otake and Pierre Ticzon and Koreans Kim Sang Jin, Kwon Tae Yon and Lee Sang Min.
Listup is ongoing. For details, call NGAP at telefax (02) 706-5926 or Sherwood Hills Golf Club at (049) 419-0578, email [email protected] or visit www.ngaponline.net. Deadline for registration is on March 29 at 12 noon.
Gabasa, on the other hand, shoots for a follow-up to her WExpress RVP Cup romp last February against Kristine Fleetwood, Sophia Blanco, Isabela Tee, Kayla Nocum, Rafaela Singsoin and Korean Kang Da Yun in the girls’ premier side of the event that features seven other categories as part of the National Golf Association of the Philippines’ grassroots program.
Kristoffer Arevalo and Wiggan Tapdasan banner the field in the Ace division (19-and-above) while the likes of Leandro Bagtas, Miguel Castaneda, Zachary Castro, Jet Hernandez, Miguel Ilas, Emeric Loza, Miguel Roque, Rico See and Korean Rho Hyun Ho are set to dispute the Eagle title in the 12-14 age bracket.
Eagle Ace Superal, Laurea Duque, Jessica Ignacio, Rianne Malixi and Koreans Jeong Yeah Eun and Kwon Min Seo lead the girls roster in the Eagle division along with Alexi Blanco, Annyka Cayabyab, Samantha Dizon and Arnie Taguines.
Also on tap is the Birdie category (11 and below), led by Joshua de Guzman, Marc Nadales, Bhuvas Nagpal and Shinichi Suzuki (boys) and Celine Abalos, Nicole Gan, Jessica Ignacio, Stevie Umali and Precious Zaragosa (girls).
