Wabol aims to qualify in RP amateur open

Many time CNMI national golf team member Jess Wabol is aiming to advance in the 2008 Philippine Amateur Open when he competes in the qualifying round to be held in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental south of Manila.

The tournament begins with the stroke-play qualifying round on May 28 and 29 where 100 golfers will try to vie for the 32 slots available for the match play event.

“Stroke play is what you shoot is your score while match play will follow total gross scores. This tournament is for all golfers with a nine handicap or below,” said Wabol, in an interview yesterday.

The first round of the match play begins on May 30 where the 32 qualifiers will play 18 holes in the morning with the Top 16 moving on into the afternoon matches where the Elite 8 advancing to the second round the following day.

On May 31, those who made it to the Elite 8 will play in the quarterfinals with the Final Four golfers moving on to the semifinals in the afternoon. June 1 will be the finals for both the men’s and women’s divisions.

“If you see the schedule, it will be really tough. If I ever make it to the qualifying round, there is a chance that in one day I will be playing twice. The tournament will not only test you physically but also mentally,” said Wabol, who is the 2006 Laolao Bay Golf Resort club champion.

He said that 1995 Tahiti Pacific Games gold medalist Makesh Raman of Fiji had the chance to play in the Philippine Amateur Open 13 years ago. “Imagine it took me 13 years just to get the chance to play in this event.”

Wabol will be flying to Manila on may 26, Monday, where he would stay there overnight before taking an early morning connecting flight to Bacolod the following day in order to make it in the two-day practice round at the Negros Occidental Country Club.

“I just wanted to learn and see the layout of each of the hole in the golf course and to know the conditions before the actual game itself.”

Wabol said he would be satisfied with his performance if ever he gets past the first or second round. “But if ever I make it to the quarterfinals or semifinals then I am really lucky. Competition there will be really tough.”

Wabol is also a part of the CNMI squad that won a team title when they competed in 1992 in Baguio City, north of Manila where they beat defending champion Club Villamor in the four-day tournament.

Team CNMI placed third behind Villamor on Day 1 then slipped to seventh place the following day. They moved back to third on the third day before making a final push to stun the defending champions in the penultimate round.

Other members of the squad were the late Ed Cabrera, Louie Kapileo, Kwang Young Kim, Jay Sorensen, and Jess Taitano, who left for the CNMI after one day of competitions.

The tournament was held in Camp John Hay and Baguio Country Club.