Hee tops Ladies Flight; great  turnout for MTEC Golf Classic

Yoo Young Hee topped the Ladies Flight of the 2023 Marianas Tourism Education Council Golf Classic last Saturday morning in the greens of the LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort west course.

With a gross score of 79, Hee took first place, followed by second place Yuko Togawa’s score of 81. Zhi Min Jin also had a gross score of 81 and settled for third place after losing on a tiebreak.

Hee’s front nine total was 45, while her back nine total was 39.

Through Jin, Hee said in an interview that the weather was perfect throughout her game. She said that her best holes were No. 6 and No. 18—as she hit birdies—while her worst hole was No. 17.

As for the competition, Hee said that it was good. She added that the chemistry within her group was good and she had fun playing.

Closest to the pin in hole No. 3 was Tony Satur at 9 feet; hole No. 9 was Chris Groves at a mere 18 inches; hole No. 13 was Satur again at 6 feet and 58 inches; and hole No. 17 was Hyun Son at 10 feet.

The most accurate for hole No. 4 was Chris Nelson at 43 inches; and the most aggressive in hole No. 12 was Bryan Camacho at 21 feet and seven inches.

Martin Duenas, chairman of the golf committee and Marianas Visitors Authority community projects manager, said that there were about 100 players in the tournament. He was thankful that the weather cooperated or they would’ve postponed the event.

He said, “We got really good weather. It was gonna rain a little around 12 o’clock based on the forecast and it did… so thanks to the very nice weather, we were able to complete the event. We were really kind of worried earlier this week because the weather wasn’t looking good… but as a committee we were able to comfort each other and provide some confidence to give the green light for today and we were right. It was a good call and everything turned out well.”

Proceeds of the tournament will go to the education work of the non-profit organization Marianas Tourism Education Council, which focuses on community outreach and school tourism MY WAVE Clubs. MTEC marks its 22nd anniversary this year.

Duenas added, “We want to thank the sponsors—I know times are hard—especially cash sponsorship, so we really appreciate their help. This is going towards a good cause which is to educate our youth early on on the importance of tourism—which is basically everyone’s business.”

The sponsors of the event were LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort, Joeten Motors, Triple J, IT&E, Top Shelf Wine/Spirits Saipan, Bank of Guam, Bridge Capital LLC., RNV Construction, Island Training Solutions, Hawaiian Rock Products, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, 103.9 KZMI, MarPac, Tinian Diamond, KSPN2, Magic 100FM, Joeten Superstore, Marianas Variety, Saipan Advertising, Saipan Shipping Co., Century Insurance, Kensington Hotel Saipan, Power 99, WESTCO, KKMP, JG Sablan Ice & Water Inc., Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, Mobil, Coral Ocean Resort Saipan, Saipan World Resort, Pacific Islands Club, D&Q, Pizza Hut, Wushin Gas, HANMI, 3HiRes, I Love Saipan, Godfather’s, Grandvrio Resort Saipan, Saipan Ice & Water Co., Napu Brewing Co., and Skydive Saipan.