BAGUIO CITY — Hoher Fenster and MegaFiber stamped their class on the opening day of the 28th Philippine Corporate Cup on Wednesday, taking the early lead in their respective divisions at the John Hay Golf Course, while YCA’s Cathy Neish delivered the tournament’s first major highlight with a stunning hole-in-one.
Hoher Fenster set the pace in Regular Division 2 with a commanding 141 points, building a 12-point cushion behind the stellar play of Judeo “Deo” Chan, who fired a tournament-best 50 points. Elvin Ecotan added 47, while Alison Vega chipped in 44 in the four-to-play, three-to-count format using the Molave scoring system.
Badi-Build A Dream moved into second place with 129 points, while Master Golfer and Team K3L were tied at 127 for third and fourth, respectively, as of press time.
In Regular Division 3, MegaFiber grabbed the early advantage with 120 points, holding off Cagayan Valley Golf Association by just two markers in a tight race. Cris Ocampo led MegaFiber with 46 points, supported by Rex Goquingco with 41 and Arnel Garcia with 33.
Cagayan Valley Golf Association stayed within striking distance with 118 points, while Cheq Software Testing and NTE Harvest both turned in 110 points to occupy third and fourth spots.
The day’s biggest moment, however, belonged to Cathy Neish of Team YCA, who thrilled the field with a hole-in-one on the par-3 No. 4 hole, measuring 180 yards. Neish made the ace using a Ping driver and a Tour ESP-5 ball, earning herself a P100,000 cash prize courtesy of ICTSI/MegaFiber, along with a golf cart from The Turf Company.
Among the top individual performers, Junel Soriano of Integral led Regular Division 1 with 48 points, followed by Dai Tsuchiya of Badi-Build A Dream Corp with 47 and Ecotan of Hoher Fenster also with 47.
Chan topped Division 2 with his 50-point round, while Allan Pasion of Club Nalu, Philip Lindog of Team K3L, and Ocampo of MegaFiber each scored 46.
In Division 3, Angelito Pineda of X-1R Team 2 led the way with 44 points, followed by Goquingco with 41, while Ruben Bugnosen of Badi-Build A Dream Corp, Richard Abendan of Cheq Software Testing, and Adrian Alvarino of VOQ Import & Export-Talaptalap all carded 39.
Division 4 saw Verhel Laroza of Team K3L emerge as the early leader with 40 points, followed by Aaron Roxas of X-1R Team 2 and Steve Tio of Cagayan Valley Golf Association with 38 each.
The 28th Philippine Corporate Cup is presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, with Smart and John Hay Hotels & Landco serving as co-presenters. It is also backed by Laus Group Motorbikes, ICTSI/MegaFiber, The Turf Company, Golfcart.ph, Envirocol, and tournament partners Le Chef, Empire, Gardenia, Srixon, and Pocari Sweat.