Oliver survives four-man playoff to win

Oliver, Oliver, Oliver.

The name is so familiar when it comes to golf, and veteran Sasaki Oliver showed why yesterday as he survived a four-man playoff to win the championship of the Family Fun Day Golf Tournament at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort.

About 44 golfers competed for top honors, and after 18 holes of play for each one, six were left on top.

Joining Oliver were fellow veterans Jess Wabol, Joe “Kamikaze” Camacho, Tony Benavente, Alex Sablan, and Nick Sablan, as all finished with net scores of 70.

The two Sablans were not around when officials announced the outcome, and as a result, only Oliver, Camacho, Benavente, and Wabol headed to the 17th hole of the east course for a crack at the title.

Wabol was first to tee off, and he and Camacho quickly found themselves in trouble as both had their shots end up just two feet away from each other, but in the sand bunker.

Benavente was also not in good shape as his shot ended up far left and landed between trees.

For his part, Oliver set himself up perfectly as his shot landed on the fairway.

After calmly placing his second shot on the green, Oliver lightly tapped the ball and almost made birdie. He then saved par, with his second putt finding nothing but the bottom of the cup.

It was Benavente’s turn, but he was not able to keep up and bogeyed.

Camacho then took a shot at saving par, but his shot rolled a bit left of the cup.

After Camacho’s bogey, it was up to Wabol to force another hole. The veteran almost came through as his putt rolled toward the hole and rimmed out, giving Oliver the win.

“I really thought that putt [birdie attempt] was going in,” Oliver said. “I was hoping Jess and Joe were going to make their putts so that we can play extra holes and play more.”

Oliver and Camacho both shot even-par 72s. Benavente finished at 1-under 71, and Wabol recorded the lowest gross score of 3-under 69.

Benavente went on to win second place due to a scorecard tiebreaker as he birdied his first attempt at Hole No. 17, while Wabol took third place overall.

Alex Sablan finished at fifth overall, finishing with a gross score of 6-over 78 while Nick Sablan placed sixth overall with a gross score of 8-over 80.

With the win, Oliver won $300, three months of free golf at Laolao Bay Golf Resort, and a trophy, while Benavente pocketed $200, a trophy, and two months of free golf. Wabol won $100, two trophies for his overall finish as well as low gross, and a month of free golf.

The tournament was part of the 4th Annual Family Fun Day, which also included games for the youth, a walk-a-thon, and a cross-country run.

The tournament and the cross-country also served as fundraisers for the upcoming 6th Micronesian Games.

Family Fun Day was sponsored by Joeten Charitable Foundation, UMDA, SaipanCell Communications, and Pacific Trading Co.

For more information on the 4th Annual Family Fun Day organized by Laolao Bay Golf Resort, call Laolao Bay Golf Resort at 236-8888 or MGOC Finance Committee chairman Rex Palacios at 287-0739.