Previous Story
Cepeda settles for B Flight win after missing hole-in-one
|
Posted on Jul 05 2005
For others, taking home $500 in cash prize plus a shiny trophy already makes a good day at the golf links, but for John Cepeda the top prize was just his consolation after the four-year veteran par-buster nearly knocked in a hole-in-one during Saturday’s 3rd NMC Foundation Open at the LaoLao Bay Golf Resort.
Cepeda was having a notable day on the course when he came out to the par-3 Hole No. 3 on the west course. With good form off the tee, Cepeda tattooed the ball perfectly and for a moment, it seemed to have disappeared.
Cepeda earned the key to a 2005 Toyota Tacoma for a good second or two before losing out on his luck.
Apparently, Cepeda knocked the shot right into the hole, but unfortunately, the ball rattled before popping back out, landing on the green, and rolling a couple of inches before resting at the lip of the cup.
“I almost did it,” Cepeda said while awaiting the final scores at the clubhouse. “The ball disappeared and when that happened, I knew it went in. It landed right into the cup and rattled with the flag pole and then just came out and stopped just at the edge of the hole.”
The amazing shot was heard by many of the 130 participants and was the talk of the clubhouse.
Nonetheless, Cepeda still had good fortune as he shot a 41 in the front nine and a 40 in the back nine for a 9-over par 81, the best performance by anyone competing in the B Flight.
“I missed it [hole-in-one] but it will still be okay if I win,” he said with a smile while waiting for officials to put up all scores of players in the flight. “I’ll be able to sleep tonight if I do.”
He received his $500, trophy, and roundtrip ticket to anywhere Continental Airlines provides services to during the tournament’s awards banquet at the Hyatt Regency Saipan poolside later that evening.
Cepeda also confirmed that he will again try his luck on next month’s Tournament of Champions.
Yun Bai and Benedicto Lizama followed Cepeda with scores of 82 and 83 to take second and third place in the flight, respectively.
Other winners included Seung Woo Kang in the Championship Flight, Clifford Camacho in A Flight, Gil Santos in C Flight, Jesus Taitano in the Seniors competition, and Noriko Togawa in Ladies Flight.
