BAGUIO CITY – Some 1,340 golfers from all over the Asia-Pacific Region signified their intention to join the upcoming 70th edition of the Fil-Am invitational golf tournament to be held at the Camp John Hay (CJH) and Baguio Country Club (BCC) fairways on December 1-18, 2019.
Anthony de Leon, a trustee of the Fil-Am Golf Foundation and general manager of the Baguio Country Club, said the projected participating golfers for this year’s edition of the tournament is expected to reach 1,400 as there are still 80 teams in the waiting list.
Initially, there are 157 teams composed of 833 golfers expected to join the regular competition to be held on December 13-18, 2019, while there are 86 teams composed of 507 golfers who registered for the super seniors and seniors divisions that will be competing on December 3 to 9, 2019.
Practice rounds for the seniors division will be on December 1-3, 2019 while the practice rounds for the regular division will be on December 10-12, 2019.
The ceremonial tee off for the seniors division will be on December 3, 2019 while the ceremonial tee off for the regular division will be December 12, 2019.
On his part, Tim Allen, general manager of the Camp John Hay Golf Club, said that with the platinum edition of the longest running amateur golf tournament in the world, the organizers decided to offer added surprises that will allow the golfers to enjoy their stay in the city.
He assured participating golfers that both golf clubs have sufficient golf carts to serve their needs as BCC has completed its golf paths leading to the 18 holes of its golf course, while CJH has facilitated the delivery of additional golf carts in preparation for the prestigious golf tournament that will be hosted by the city.
The Fil-Am invitational golf tournament is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running amateur golf tournament in the world having existed over the past 7 decades.
One of the additional incentives for the participating golfers for this year is that the organizers decided to increase the previous P7,000 gift check to each of the registered golfers to a whooping P10,000 gift check for every participant towards the purchase of golf items and apparel in the exhibit area.
Allen admitted that after the commencement of the 69th edition of the tournament last year, organizers already started discussing how to provide additional surprises for this year’s staging of the competition as it reached another milestone and participants continue to significantly increase.
He added that the 18-day competition will definitely serve as a significant boost to the local tourism industry as the participating golfers will be bringing with them their families, friends and relatives for them to enjoy the cool climate that Baguio.
By Dexter A. See
