THE Januarius Fil-Am Golf Invitational launches its diamond edition on Friday with an exciting new format, a banner field, and a defending seniors' champion that is on a mission to honor its dearly departed members with another championship,
The 2025 edition of the tournament founded in 1949 by movie icon and senator Rogelio dela Rosa with then–Camp John Hay commander Maj. Archie Black has lured over 1,400 amateur players both in the regular division and seniors' play, which gets the ball rolling on Friday at the Baguio Country Club and John Hay Golf courses.
READ Fil-Am Invitational turns 75 with a new format, record turnout
Luisita is brimming with confidence in its quest for a seventh seniors championship in eight years behind a powerhouse cast made up of Abe Rosal, Benjie Sumulong, Ferdie Barbosa, newcomer Ronnie Littaua, and team captain and reserve Jeric Hechanova.
The Tarlac-based squad will not have a Manila Southwoods to contend with this year, but will make its title defense under the tricky four-to-play, four-to-count format, which puts premium on consistency but at the same time can see a team's title hopes doomed by a single mid-round injury or one player's disqualification.
Rosal should be key for Luisita, which relied on his final-round 34 under the Stableford scoring system at Baguio Country Club to beat Southwoods by five last year.
This time, Luisita, according to Hechanova, will be extra motivated to retain the Fil-Championship Division title as their way of honoring late teammates Francis Gaston, Iggy Clavecilla, Carlo Gamban, and Alex Sison.
Although traditional powerhouse Southwoods is not entered this year, some of its mainstays in the seniors division will be spread to teams like Srixon IMG. Riviera Golf Club, which placed third last year, also looms as a threat
“I think what’s more important for us is to win with our team and not worry about the others,” Hechanova said.
Fil-Championship play won't begin until Saturday at CJH, yielding the spotlight on Friday to golfers in the Senior A, Senior C, Senior D, and Senior F divisions. Am Championship features Green Water Seniors, Mamala Bay, Srixon IMG Team 2, Summit Point, and Team CAGC Seniors.
The Regular Division gets underway on December 5.
The 75th-edition tournament will be the first test for John Hay Golf’s new management, which has left no stone unturned to turn the par-69 course inside the former vacation hideaway for US military men into what is easily the best public course in the country.
READ One of the Philippines' finest golf courses now open to the public
Adding to the excitement are the hole-in-one prizes, topped by two brand-new cars — a Mazda CX-30 2.0L HEV and a Toyota Raize. Other prizes include a Get Go 2-seater golf cart, iron sets from XXIO, Taylormade, Honma, and Titleist, a Vietnam golf package, and P100,000 worth of K&G Apparels.
Organizers also announced that two brand-new Mazda Miata MX-5s will be raffled off, along with iPhones, premium gadgets, and two Vespa S125 motorcycles.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
