Dynamic duos top Best Ball
The partnerships of Sasaki Oliver and Nick Sablan and Mr. Jong and Mr. Kam paid dividends when the two pairs tied for the championships of the Two-Man Best Ball Tournament held last Jan. 14 at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort.
Oliver and Sablan came away with a 31 in the front nine before closing with a 34 in the back nine for a pretty gross score of 65, the same total produced by their Korean counterparts who swung for a 32 and a 33 in the front and back, respectively. Both pairs shared the $1,600 first and second place purses.
Refaluwasch Golf Association president Jess Wabol and the club’s affable tournament director Tony Satur finished second, a mere two strokes behind Oliver/Sablan and Jong/Kam with a 67. The tandem of Wabol and Satur was a picture of consistency all throughout the competition shooting a 33 in the first nine holes then firing 34 in the last nine.
Three pairs finished the round with identical scores of 68—Tony Benavente and Ray San Nicolas, Ron Hodges and Jay Lee, and the only co-ed team of the tournament, Eddie Peter and Noriko Togawa.
Benavente/San Nicolas registered a 33 and 35, Hodges and Lee came away with a 36 and 32, and Peter and Togawa managed a 35 and 33.
Jeff Taylor and Rick Klautz finished a stroke down with their 69 after a 35 in the front and a 34 in the back.
The rest of the pairs that played in the Best Ball competition were Joe “Kamikaze” Camacho and Alex Aquiningoc (70), Adam Hardwick and Manny Alvarez (70), Russel and Jess Taitano (70), Jay Koo and Mr. Park (72), Gus Camacho and Kim Sai (72), Joji Taguchi and Mr. Kuribayashi (74), Ryan Song and Mr. Kim (75), Louie Tilipao and John Mettao (75), Tony Rogolifoi and Sonny Flores (77), John Babauta and Fred Camacho (76), former Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente and Frank Pangelinan (78).
In the closest to the pin contests, Wabol and Satur topped the 3rd and 13th holes, while Jong and Kam were the winners in the 7th hole. The 17th hole, meanwhile, belonged to Taylor and Klautz. Each pair received $100 for their feats.
