Saipan Tribune

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Monday, October 29, 2012

Yumul, Sablan top Chamber golf tourney

Low gross winners Ralph Yumul and Mike Sablan shone the brightest in the 5th Annual Saipan Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament held last Saturday at Coral Ocean Point Resort Club.

The duo teamed up in the scramble format tournament and worked out a 65 raw score to beat Manny Mangarero and Tars Olopai (67) and Kim Gi Yoeng and Lee Geun Ju (68), who claimed third prize via tiebreaker over Frederico Flores and Tom McKenzie (68).

Hole 8 turned out to be the deciding factor in breaking the tie for third place and determining the runners-up. Mangarero and Olopai bagged a birdie on the kicker, while Flores and McKenzie settled for a par and were issued a $100 prize for fourth place, as the payouts were adjusted from the original format based on the turnout. First place winners split cash prizes of $600, while $300 and $200 were awarded to the runners-up and third placers.

In other results, Ladies low net winners Lorraine Babauta and Sherlyn Jones grossed a 79 that calculated into a field low net of 73, but since only four pairs participated in the weekend event, organizers awarded cash prize only to the top team.

The rest of the prize money was portioned out to Flores and McKenzie, in addition to the fourth, fifth and sixth place men's low-net finishers in sums of $175, $125 and $100, respectively. Fifty-six players participated in the tournament.

Nick Sablan and Rick Kautz won the men's low net with a very slim margin. The couple fronted a zero-handicap, but its 71 gross count was still enough to stand up against runners-up Frank Castro and Jung Eun Teack, whose 76 raw was shaved down to a 71.2 net.

J.J. Atalig and Joey Dela Cruz (71.2 net) settled for third place, while Juan Babauta and Fred Camacho finished fourth with a 74 gross and 71.6 net. Joe Suarez and Frank Duenas took the fifth prize with a 73 gross score and 71.8 net figure, while and Carl Hocog and Ned Norita rounded out the Top 6 with a 72 net.

Meanwhile, 12-year-old closest to the pin winner Sean Lee won a round-trip ticket for two to anywhere Delta Airlines flies for resting his tee shot on hole No. 7 10'9 ” from the cup. He also took home a brand new DVD player and Taylormade 4 wood in the raffle drawing.

The SCC-organized tournament was supported by Delta, United Air Lines, Takagi Associates, AON Insurance, Bank of Hawaii, Triple J Motors, IT&E, DFS Galleria, Coca-Cola/Foremost, Joeten Enterprises, Tan Holdings, ASC Trust, Gold's Gym, Budweiser/Marpac, Docomo Pacific, Safety 1st, Take Care Insurance, MCV, Xerox, Saipan Shipping Company, Northern Marianas College, Data Dot, Martega Trading, Pacific Islands Club, Hyatt Regency Saipan, McDonald's, Truong's, Capriossa, Tony Roma's, Hard Rock Café, and 360 Revolving Restaurant.