Baguio—Activities for the seniors’ tournament of the 72nd Fil-Am Men’s Invitational, the world’s biggest amateur tournament in terms of participation, formally opened Wednesday with the start of the practice rounds and a team captains meeting held at the Camp John Hay Golf Club.
Fil-Am co-chairmen Anthony de Leon of Baguio Country Club and Jude Eustaquio of Camp John Hay Golf Club and rules officials Jose “Pepot” Iñigo and Jack Imperial met with skippers of teams were briefed on the conditions of play and on-course rules of co-hosts Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay.
The new health guidelines were also discussed to ensure the safety of the participants, staff and guests. The antigen tests that were implemented last year will no longer be required but each player must submit proof of full vaccination and booster shots while the locker facilities will operate within limits.
“On behalf of Jude (Eustaquio), I welcome everyone to this annual event. We are happy to see new and old friends here and have a sort of reunion,” said De Leon, who is the general manager of BCC.
A total of 100 teams are competing in the seniors and 26 are playing in the lower divisions of the regular teams this week. In all, there will be more than 1,200 playing making up the 240 teams with still 110 squads on the waitlist.
The two-week event is held in partnership with Baguio Country Club, Camp John Hay Golf Club, The Manor, The Forest Lodge, and Le Chef. The event presenters are 3K Rock Engineering and Construction Corp., Toyota, Boysen, and Columbia Sportswear.
The major sponsors are Palm Grove, Britanny Corp., and Asiatraders Corp. while minor sponsors are Time Cargo Logistics, Lola Nena’s, K&G, Rudy Project, JTEN Sports, Inc., Januarius Holdings, Beer Below Zero, and Tee Sports Gear.
Hole-in-one sponsors are Spes Construction, Inc., Noah Business Applications, and Laus Group of Companies. Daily Tribune and The Perfect Drive are media partners.
