Tony Cabrera is March winner

Cabrera

A 78-year-old retired master sergeant took command of the Fil-Taga Golfers Association March Ace of the Month Tournament last March 25 at the Coral Ocean Resort.

Tony Cabrera put younger club members to shame after drilling them with a net score of 68, which was built around a 46 in the front nine and 43 in the back nine for the 21-handicapper for a gross of 89.

The U.S. Marine Corps veteran, who first picked up the sport in 1974 in San Diego, California, said he really played well during the one-day tourney.

“I was really hitting my ball right straight into the fairway and almost 300 yards and went on the green on the third shot…In fact, I had three pars in my first nine holes. If I didn’t do an eight-shot on No. 9, I would have had a better score,” he said.

Cabrera added that tourists playing in the 10th hole actually stymied everyone’s rhythm during the March tourney.

“On the 10th hole there were players not part of the tournament and one guy argued with me. After that everyone’s drive went crazy. My ball on No. 9th went down the hill but remarkably I still bogeyed. If it wasn’t for that distraction I probably would’ve shot a gross of 86 or 87,” he said.

It was a fine day nonetheless, according to Cabrera, as the last time he shot in the 80s was 30 years ago in 1993.

“I’m very thankful to be able to play golf and play like my teammates. They always ask me what’s my trick or what possesses me to play golf at the age of 78. I tell them I just get lucky sometimes,” he said.

Cabrera attributed his success in the gentleman’s sport to still being a very active person despite being in his late 70s. He said he still loves to cook, bake, and work on the yard, as he still plants and even uproots tangan-tangan with his trusty Japanese saw.

“I feel like I can still hang with the young guys. Leo [Ganacias] asked me on the course because I outdrove everyone ‘Tony do you mind if I ask you how old you are and could you still hit your ball that straight?’”

Cabrera also dedicated his monthly plum to his parents.

“The way that I was brought up by my parents made me very disciplined throughout my life. I’ve been pretty good at managing my life,” said the third oldest of eight siblings. 

Cabrera is married to Rita Cruz Cabrera and the couple has five children with four of them living in Washington, D.C. The youngest lives with them in their lovely home in As Matuis.

Bert Suda and Roland Merar came in second and third with an identical net score of 73 after Cabrera. However, the former edged the latter via a scorecard tiebreaker. Suda had a gross of 92 (47-45), while Merar had a gross of 83 (40-43).

A total of 19 players took part in the Fil-Taga March tourney.

In the par 3 competition, Dan Ganacias, Freddie Cataluna, Albert Pajarillaga, and Mike Cruz came out on top.