Right stuff for Wabol in NMC Open

Veteran golfer Jess Wabol had the right stuff working for him Saturday as he bested eight other golfers in the Championship Flight of the 4th Annual NMC Foundation Open held at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort west course.

Wabol, who is also vying for a slot in the upcoming 6th Micronesian Games, was impressive from the start and finished with score of 2-under 70 to win the coveted title.

The veteran from Chalan Lau Lau got off on the right foot as he birdied the par-four first hole. He was good for par in the next three holes and moved to 2-under with another birdie in the par-five hole No. 5. He bogeyed the next hole, but saved par in the remainder of the front nine for a 1-under 35.

Wabol fell to even par after bogeying his first hole in the back nine, but quickly recovered and recorded pars in the next five holes before hitting another birdie in hole No. 16. After making a par, Wabol closed on a high note with another birdie on the 512-yard par-five 18th.

George Taguchi and Oliver Sasaki placed second and third, both shooting 1-over 73s.Taguchi, however, won via scorecard tiebreaker.

For his part, Manny C. Tenorio took top honors in the A Flight as he finished with a score of 2-over par 74 after recording 37 shots in both the front and back nine. Don Fetherman and Steve Jang placed second and third, both with scores of 78, but Fetherman won via scorecard tiebreaker.

For his part, George Moses was the best B Flight performer and topped his division with a score of 81. After kicking off his day with a 43, Moses put up a better show on the back nine and shot a 38 for the win.

Joe Tudela and Danny Quitugua finished tied after both shot identical scores of 83, but Tudela placed second vie tiebreaker.

The C Flight champion was Luis Pelisamen, who finished with a gross score of 82, while young gun Tim Taguchi and Jin Ahn finished in second and third. Both Taguchi and Ahn posted identical scores of 85, but Taguchi won via tiebreaker.

For his part, Rex Palacios was the top player in the Seniors Flight as he shot a 46 on the front and 44 on the back for a gross score of 90. Jack Tenorio won second place with 94 shots, while Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio placed third with a score of 99.

Each of the top three finishers in each flight won cash and a trophy. First place winners pocketed $500 plus a roundtrip ticket to anywhere Continental Micronesian flies except Honolulu and Narita. Runners-up won $300, while third place finishers earned $200.

Meanwhile, Emily Santos won another tournament as she topped the Women’s Flight low gross competition with a score of 85 after hitting 40 shots in her first nine holes and 45 in the last nine.

Rita Arkle won the Women’s Low Net with a net score of 70.8. Arkle finished with a gross of 102, and holds a handicap of 31.2.

Posting the second lowest net score was Alice Taitano with a score of 73.2. She finished with a gross of 90 and sports a 16.8 handicap.