HK-RP Senior golf match opens in Davao
by Prix D Banzon
Davao City (25 September) -- Senior golfers from HongKong will pair with the Philippine Senior team in a golf match at Palos Verde Golf Club starting September 25 in Davao City.
Andy Dumlao III, event director of Philippine Golf Foundation said at Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM the idea of a match cracked last year and after series of talks and discussions with the partners for the past four months the Hong Kong versus Philippines Senior Team Challenge was fixed where 20 players from both cities will play for two days here.
"Our main objective is to dispel the bad image of Davao and Mindanao through word of mouth in HongKong by the respectable golfers," he said.
The golfers plays on day one the two-men team with five players each team and the next day the scramble format.
Dumlao said each team will have two 70 years old player and they are all amateur players.
He said the HongKong based players are owners of companies while others are presidents or chief executives.
Joseph Pethes, team captain of Team HongKong said they are mostly senior players and they are not playing not because of age but building partners, network as well as enjoy friendship and camaraderie with both teams.
"This is our chance of knowing our counterparts and the Senior Team is growing all over the world," he said.
Dumlao said the HongKong team has Hugh Staunton, president of Hong Kong Golf Association while the Philippine team includes Congressman Peping Cojuangco and a host of RP senior golfers.
He said the match not only showcases the Philippines but also Mindanao and Davao.
Dumlao meanwhile said that the first ever golf match with foreign players will have more events to come next from Malaysia and Indonesia even as he said that they use golf as vehicle to entice other people to come to Davao.
Department of Tourism (DOT XI) regional director Sonia Garcia said they are working packages using golf as the vehicle to attract visitors.
She said under the BIMP EAGA they are conceptualizing golf packages like twinning of two cities such as Davao-Manado and Davao-Kota Kinabalu.
"This way we are not only promoting Davao as a destination of conferences and conventions but for those who want to play golf as well," she added. (PIA XI) [top]
