{"id":2830,"date":"2025-05-05T14:50:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T14:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/?p=2830"},"modified":"2025-05-05T14:50:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T14:50:33","slug":"tight-exciting-matches-highlight-jpgt-mactan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/05\/tight-exciting-matches-highlight-jpgt-mactan\/","title":{"rendered":"Tight, exciting matches highlight JPGT Mactan"},"content":{"rendered":"
MACTAN Island \u2013\u00a0The ICTSI Mactan Island Junior PGT Championship teed off with tightly contested battles across six age-group divisions at the short but challenging Mactan Island Golf Course here on Monday, where par was elusive and early leads were hard-fought.<\/div>\n

Local standouts Ni\u00f1a Balangauan and Lois Laine Go carded identical five-over 73s under sweltering conditions to share the top spot in the girls\u2019 15-18 category of the 54-hole tournament, serving as the kickoff leg of the seven-stage Visayas-Mindanao series organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.<\/p>\n

Balangauan, 15, relied on a blazing birdie run from No. 15 for an impressive 31 on the back nine, only to struggle with a bogey-filled 42 on the front.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis course is unpredictable \u2013 short but tricky,\u201d said the St. Benedict Childhood Education Center student. \u201cI need to rehydrate, rest well and do my best tomorrow (Tuesday). No expectations \u2013 just focus shot by shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Go, meanwhile, credited her putting for keeping her in contention.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy putting really saved my day,\u201d said the youngest of the three golf-playing Go siblings. \u201cMy plan is simple \u2013 hit the fairways, reach the greens and make putts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davao\u2019s Precious Zaragosa posted a 78 in her transition to the top division, trailing the co-leaders by five, while Bukidnon\u2019s Crista Mi\u00f1oza followed at 79, and Cebu\u2019s Apple Gotiong opened with an 83.<\/p>\n

In boys\u2019 15-18,\u00a0Bukidnon\u2019s Alexis Nailga drained a clutch birdie on No. 8 and benefited from Nyito Tiongko III\u2019s bogey on the ninth to tie for the lead at 77. Bacolod\u2019s Inno Flores kept within striking range at 80.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played poorly \u2013 my drives veered left, and I overhit most irons,\u201d rued Nailga. \u201cI need to focus on my long game tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tiongko embraced the course\u2019s chipping conditions but vowed to sharpen his iron play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI plan to work on my 120-yard shots and hope the putts drop tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trailing the leaders were Inno Flores, who carded an 80, while Zeus Suzara and Roman Tiongko matched 87s, and Ritchie Go and Daniel Go faced an uphill battle over the next two rounds after 89 and 98, respectively.<\/p>\n

In boys\u2019 7-10 category, Davao\u2019s Ethan Lago and Cebu\u2019s Kvan Alburo both fired 78s to set up an anticipated showdown in the final round of the 36-hole event sponsored by ICTSI. Lago, 8, pitched in for birdie on No. 18 to tie Alburo, who struggled with his putting stroke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to make more birdies and keep my score steady,\u201d said Lago.<\/p>\n

For his part, Alburo said:\u00a0\u201cI need to focus on my shots and improve my putting tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Rolida carded an 82, staying in the hunt with a strong back nine.<\/p>\n

In girls\u2019 11-14 class,\u00a0Zuri Bagaloyos of Mandaue posted a 76 and held off Margaux Espina of Cagayan de Oro and South Cotabato\u2019s Brittany Tamayo , who both turned in 77s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a lot of three-putts and struggled to hit regulation,\u201d said Bagaloyos, 12. \u201cTomorrow, I just want to play safe, play happy and make my parents proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rafella Batican struggled with an 81 and Chelsea Ogborne skied to a 90.<\/p>\n

In boys\u2019 11-14 division, Ralph Batican fired a gritty three-over 71 to seize a two-shot lead over Jared Saban, who carded a 73. Ken Guillermo and David Gothong stayed within striking distance with 75 and 76, respectively,\u00a0 in what promises to be a thrilling final 18 holes.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s JPGT Match Play champion Denise Mendoza dominated her division with a stellar 76, opening a massive 19-stroke lead over Sistine Marie Yu, who shot a 95.<\/p>\n

The 10-year-old, a student at Cebu Learning Center capped her round with two birdies and an eagle on No. 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hit a good drive, pitched to 10 feet, and made the putt \u2013 I thought it would lip out,\u201d said Mendoza of her eagle feat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MACTAN Island \u2013\u00a0The ICTSI Mactan Island Junior PGT Championship teed off with tightly contested battles across six age-group divisions at the short but challenging Mactan Island Golf Course here on Monday, where par was elusive and early leads were hard-fought. Local standouts Ni\u00f1a Balangauan and Lois Laine Go carded identical five-over 73s under sweltering conditions…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[288],"class_list":["post-2830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-jpgt-mactan"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2830"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2832,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2830\/revisions\/2832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}