Mr. Unorthodox goes for three-peat

Jess “Mr. Unorthodox” Wabol looks to complete a three-peat when the 6th Annual NMC Foundation Open tees off this morning at the Laolao Bay Golf Resort.

The former Oleai Elementary School principal won the past two stagings of the fund-raising event for the islands’ lone tertiary institution and Wabol said winning a third straight Championship Flight trophy today would be hard.

“I’ve been just trying to stay focus and positive in spite of all the challenges that will be there tomorrow,” he said during an interview with the Saipan Tribune yesterday morning at Cheap Charlie’s.

Asked who among Saipan’s top par-busters has the best chance of dethroning him this year, he mentioned three—Jeff Taylor, Adam Hardwicke, and Park Joung Hoon.

Aside from the challenge brought forth by the three master strokers, Wabol also would not discount the tough course at the Kagman facility.

“The greens are going to be fast. That’s typical of Laolao’s system. If it’s major tournament they make it hard for everybody. Your success will depend on how you approach the game tomorrow. If you three-putted, hole-out and move on to the next one. Hopefully you don’t do it again—that’s the only solution,” he said.

Wabol is not only looking for a third straight NMC Foundation Open crown, as a win today would keep alive his chances of sweeping all three major tournament in the Commonwealth after ruling the 2008 HANMI Charity Golf Tournament last April 5.

The Tournament of Champions is the final major golf tournament of the CNMI and is set later this year.

“I’ve been going to Saipan Country Club four times a week from Tuesday to Friday. Aside from the walking and conditioning, I’ve been trying to continue to work on different shots,” Wabol said when asked how he prepared for today’s event.

“Anything can happen now. They’re just too many good golfers out there,” he said.

Wabol won last year’s Championship Flight after firing a 77 built around a 39 in the front and a 38 in the back. The five-over-par score was good enough to hold back veteran par-busters that included Hardwicke, Taylor, and Park, as well as Joe “Kamikaze” Camacho, George “Joji” Taguchi, Andy Nepaial, Danny Singh, Paul Camacho, and Sasaki Oliver.

The 6th Annual NMC Foundation Open, which will have a shotgun start of 7am today, will adopt a medal play format and utilize a special double Peoria on all men’s flights.

In addition to first, second, and third place prizes for the flights, the tournament will include hole-in-one prizes.

The lucky golfer who makes a hole-in-one shot has a chance at winning a 2008 Mazda 3, courtesy of Triple J; or $25,000 in cash from Bank of Hawaii; or another $25,000 in cash from AON Insurance; or a $5,000 cash prize courtesy of Century Insurance.

The NMC Foundation is a non-profit organization whose goal is to raise funds and support the Northern Marianas College, Saipan’s lone post-secondary educational institution. It is made up of individuals who are dedicated and committed to ensuring that CNMI students receive the utmost support in pursuing their educational goals.