NMI golfers stand out in Guam’s Tourism Cup

NMI’s golfers stood out in the 30th Annual Tourism Cup Championship golf tourney 2024 last weekend on Guam at the Country Club of The Pacific.

Out of seven, three players found themselves on the podium in their respective divisions against players from Guam.

In the Ladies Low Gross, Saipan’s Sae Hee Kim won first place with gross scores of 89 and 75.

Second went to Mina Manibusan with a gross of 90 and 78, while third place was Saipan’s Young Min Choi with a gross of 85 and 85.

In the Men’s Championship Flight, Louie Sunga was first with a gross of 76 and 76 for a total net of 147. Second place was Saipan’s Dominique Kieffer who fired a 75 and 79 gross score for a total net score of 154.

Third place was T.J. Hubert who shot a 78 and 79 gross score for a total net score of 157, while fourth was Saipan’s Zhi Yunli at 80 and 81 for a total net score of 161.

In the Ladies Low Net, first place was Rose Cunliffe who had a total of 194. Second was Hyranie McAuslen at 175, and third was Sirena Cassidy at 200.

For Kim, she said that the competition was great. “Although we had some rain on Saturday, overall, it was perfect weather to play golf. Not too hot. The golf course was beautiful, well maintained. Competitive course to play because I had only one practice round.”

On how she felt about winning, she said, “I didn’t have a feeling that I would win this competition because on the first day I shot 89. I had a few bad driver shots and all my putting was so bad. So on the second day I really put myself down and told myself to just play like I’m playing in Saipan with my friends with no pressure. I was lucky I got paired up with my friend Young Min Choi. We play golf together in Saipan and she is my lucky charm because I play [well] when I’m playing with her.”

She added, “Also, I had so many lucky shots. Even some missed shots ended up in a good place to hit. It was my day. Shot 75 and that is my lifetime best score. Can’t believe I made my new record in a tournament.” She said her hardest hole to play was number four. “It’s a short par 4 but somewhat hard to play for me. I couldn’t use the driver in that hole, and ended up using 5 wood.” The easiest, she said, was number 11. She said it was a short par four and not too challenging.

For Keiffer, it was her first time to compete for golf in Guam. She said of the competition, “I’ve gotten to know some Guam players who regularly come to Saipan for tournaments, and I was able to play with them again in this tournament. We are building a really fun rivalry.”

As for her performance, she said, “I didn’t have my best game, but I stayed patient and did the best with what I had. I don’t practice as much as I used to so I try not to get frustrated when things don’t go my way. I was hoping to win but Louie Sunga from Guam played well and earned it.”

For the hardest hole, she said it was number six. “This hole for the championship flight was a 464-yard par 4 into the wind. If you know golf, you know that’s a really really long par 4 and having wind to battle makes it even tougher. I bogeyed the hole both days.” As for the easiest, she said it was hole one as she birdied that par five both days.

The 31-year-old mechanical engineer designer then said of the course and conditions that weekend that “the golf course for the championship flight was 7,500 yards long, which is PGA Tour length. Honestly, it was exhausting playing a course so long. And playing in the rain on Saturday drained a lot of my energy. I usually enjoy playing really tough golf courses and this weekend was no different. Even though I didn’t play my best, I still enjoyed CCP immensely.”

As to what’s next, she said. “I’m looking forward to defending my title at the NMC Open in March against local players and Guam players alike.”

Saipan’s Lydia Tan, Rose Rohringer, and Wan Sub Lee also joined the tournament.