Student tops teacher in TOC

Two rounds on the links at LaoLao Bay Golf Resort were not enough to decide the winner of the 10th Annual Tournament of Champions as Sasaki Oliver edged out Joe “Kamikaze” Camacho by a stroke in a one-hole playoff to earn the 2005 title.

“I’ve been working on this for almost the past two years. I’m really happy I did it this time. It’s the first time, but I did it in the MTEC. I’m happy I came out today. The weather was bad, conditions were really horrible, and I’m just really glad that I came out strong,” said Oliver

After the golf gods allowed the field to enjoy a perfect opening day, the skies were filled with clouds and rain in the waning moments of the weekend spectacular to the dismay of duffers and volunteers alike.

Oliver persevered through the less-than-ideal conditions by relying on the teachings of his coach and mentor. After the first day he held a four stroke lead over Camacho, but the sage of swing rallied back to gain a two-stroke advantage with two holes to go on the final day before settling for a two-round tie at 149 apiece.

“With the help of my coach we’ve been working on a lot of things for the past few months. I’ve learned a lot. Instead of trying to hit the ball hard, just put it on the fairway, get away from the big numbers, and try to stay low,” said Oliver.

Camacho has been coaching Oliver for the past two years and said that it did not come as much of a surprise that his star pupil won the tournament.

“I think it’s about time it happened for him. It was between him and me—that’s the only way I saw this tournament. I think it’s pretty good. I gave it a run. I was four behind since yesterday, and I aggravated my shoulder on number six and was about to pull out on number seven. It’s just excruciating, it’s killing me. I feel like my shoulder is burning right now,” said Camacho.

Were it not for the injury he may have pulled off the comeback, but he almost made it happen when his bunker shot on the playoff hole came within inches of the cup. Despite nagging injuries, Camacho lowered his score by five strokes from the opening day.

The rest of the field played witness to some of Saipan’s top golfers finish in familiar positions as youngster James Balajadia kept his game together long enough for first place in the A Flight with an overall score of 156 with back-to-back rounds of 78, and Reny DeGuzman notched an 80 to finish in second with 159. After leading the opening day, Tim Goodwin settled for a tied for third with Toshiyuki Mori after shooting an 83 for a final score of 160.

As of press time, the organizers of the TOC were still discussing the final standings of the B Flight, but the C Flight was crystal clear as Medson S. Ladore came out of nowhere to take first place with an 82 for a total of 176. Pete Hocog advanced from a logjam in third place to take second with a final round 87 (178), while Mike Cruz and Henry Bautista split third with matching 181 scores.

On the women’s side, Noriko Togawa played better in the rain to finish with a 79 on the second day to successfully defend her title with a 162, while Alice Taitano climbed into second place with an 88 to finish with a 179. Shiori Onoue maintained her position in third place with a 91, but she shared her slot with Rose Tarpley who scored a 90 to finish at 180.

The Seniors showed off their flair for excitement yesterday, as Eddie Peter vaulted over Ed Manibusan to finish in first place with a round of 73 and overall score of 150. To his credit, Manibusan finished with a 151, and was only one stroke off of his 75 from opening day. Jess Taitano was not far from the leaders, as the veteran of the greens finished with a 77 (157) in third.

The sub-160 club included the winner of the Super Senior Flight as well, as Duke Yoo finished his second round of 18 holes with an 81 to wrap up his weekend of golf with a total of 158. Thomas B. Castro stayed closely behind in second place to finish with an overall score of 166, while Jesus Aldan took third with a 167.

“Another year has closed with another successful tournament. The rain didn’t delay anything in the last three holes, but we did finish with a slight overcast,” said TOC co-chairman Ben Babauta.