Wabol is now Mr. Hall of Fame

Jess Wabol had his big share of victories in various golf tournaments in the Commonwealth and making it to the CNMI Sports Hall of Fame was icing on the cake in his 26 fruitful years on the greens.

“I had won one local tournament after another, winning in NMC, HANMI, Hyatt, Tournament of Champions, and churches’ fundraisers. I also had the honor of representing the CNMI in various regional tournaments, such as SPG and Micronesian Games,” Wabol said.

“Now I am in the company of the best and respected players and sports officials in the CNMI. I could not ask for more, there’s nothing left to prove,” he added.

Wabol was inducted to the CNMI Sports Hall of Fame last month during the 2008 NMASA Annual Sports Banquet at the Seaside Hall of Saipan Grand Hotel.

He became the 13th member of the elite group, joining the 2003 class of swimming coaches Bill and Jean Sakovich, basketball’s Tony Rogolifoi, and swimmer Mike Villagomez, 2004’s Irene Alpet of tennis, Tony Satur of softball, Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios of baseball, and athletics’ Kurt Barnes, 2005’s Cecilia Lisua of athletics and Jose Tenorio Sablan of softball, 2006’s Ricardo Duenas of athletics and volleyball, and 2007’s Antonio Benavente of baseball.

Wabol had gone a long way since he and friend, Tony Satur, carved guava and tangan tangan trees to use as golf clubs.

“But I stopped carving guava trees and used other trees, as I was scolded by my grandmother. From those wooden-card clubs, we used at the Whispering Palms Golf Course [now Saipan Golf Course], we then borrowed real clubs from Sid Taisacan and Jess Taitano,” said Wabol.

“Clubs were pretty expensive then, and we owe it to Sid and Jess that we were able to use good clubs,” he added.

Wabol polished his game in the late 1980s to the 1990s, joining one tournament after another here and in the Philippines, and representing the CNMI in the Micronesian Games, South Pacific Games, and Mini South Pacific Games.

During those times, he was known as one of the longest hitters in the CNMI. But in 2003, after undergoing a back operation, he slowed down.

“After my operation in 2003, doctor’s order prevented me from playing golf for one year. It [stop playing] was one of the hardest things to do. You wake up in the morning thinking of golf, in the afternoon, you think about golf, too, and before you sleep, you still think about golf. I breathe golf and eat golf,” Wabol said.

When he returned to the greens in 2004, the power-hitter golfer was gone, and was replaced by a finesse one.

“I thank Jeff [Taylor] and Tony [Satur] for helping me become a finesse player. They were the ones who encouraged me that I don’t have to hit the ball so hard from the tee area. They taught me to calculate my shots and consider the hazards and traps before hitting the ball,” he added.

“Now, I can say I am a better player than when I was a long hitter then. I am wiser, too,” said the 51-year-old golfer.