{"id":361702,"date":"2022-02-10T06:04:03","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T20:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=361702"},"modified":"2022-02-10T06:04:03","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T20:04:03","slug":"nick-surprise-winner-of-sga-ace-of-aces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/nick-surprise-winner-of-sga-ace-of-aces\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick \u2018surprise\u2019 winner of SGA Ace of Aces"},"content":{"rendered":"
Nick Sablan, second from left, was hailed the champion of the Saipan Golfers Association 2021 Ace of Aces Tournament held last Jan. 22 and 23 at the Laolao Golf & Resort east west courses.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former national golfer Nick Sablan won the Saipan Golfers Association 2021 Ace of Aces Tournament held last Jan. 22 and 23 at the Laolao Golf & Resort east west courses.<\/p>\n

The 69-year-old shot a net 70 on Day 1 of the two-day season-ending tournament before capping his victorious weekend with a net 72 on Day 2 for a total net score of 142.<\/p>\n

Sablan, who picked up the sport in his late 20s, was oblivious that he had the lead after the first day so it came as a complete shock that he found himself holding the SGA 2021 Ace of Aces Tournament championships trophy after all was said and done.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know my handicap went up so I didn\u2019t know I won. I was in control of the game in the second day. I was like 2-over all the way up to hole No. 15 and lost it and went double, double, double bogey,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Not one to make excuses for his poor play on the second day, Sablan charged it all to fate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess my age caught up with me. It\u2019s a two-day tournament after all. I don\u2019t want to use it as an excuse but that\u2019s golf.\u201d<\/p>\n

And to show how fickle the golf gods are, Sablan just this weekend shot a gross 70 during a round of golf with friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast weekend, I went out with the boys and shot my age as I\u2019ll be 70 this year. It\u2019s every golfer\u2019s dream to shoot their age. I want to dedicate my Ace of Aces win to fellow golfers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Curiously, the SGA 2021 Ace of Aces Tournament marks the first time Sablan ever won the club\u2019s championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally I don\u2019t participate in this tournament. But this year, the group\u2019s getting smaller so I just want to support the association,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Unlike his previous championships when he shared his winnings with good friend and golfing pal, Rick Kautz, Sablan didn\u2019t extent the gesture this time.<\/p>\n

Edward Sablan finished second to his surname-sake with a two-round total of 138. SGA explained that although Edward Sablan had a lower score than Nick Sablan he was not a 2021 Ace of the Month and thus ineligible for the yearly honor.<\/p>\n

Another Sablan came in at third as Joe I. Sablan matched Nick Sablan\u2019s 142 net but lost out on a scorecard tiebreak.<\/p>\n

Attorney General Ed Manibusan came within a whisker of the Sablans to finish in fourth with a two-round net total of 143.<\/p>\n

As a consolation of sorts, Edward Sablan won the January Ace of the Month Tournament held on the second day of the Ace of Aces Tournament after firing a net 65 (91 gross, 48-43), assuring him of being eligible for the 2022 season-ending competition.<\/p>\n

In the closest to the pin, Nick Sablan won in holes No. 3 and 13, Joe Sablan took the prize in hole No. 6, Rick Kautz was without peer in hole No. 15, while Alex Tudela topped holes No. 7 and 11.<\/p>\n

In the longest drive, Alex Tudela brought the lumber in holes No. 3 and 18. Ditto for Nick Sablan in holes No. 2 and 8.<\/p>\n

The SGA 2022 February Ace of the Month Tournament is scheduled this Sunday, Feb. 13, at the Kingfisher Golf Link in Talafofo. Tee time is at 9:30am and show time is at 9am.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former national golfer Nick Sablan won the Saipan Golfers Association 2021 Ace of Aces Tournament…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":361704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-361702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}