PHL officials host Independence Day golf tourney in US

Philippine officials in San Francisco, California hosted a golf tournament in Brentwood, California as part of activities marking the Philippines' 113th Independence Day. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday the golf tournament was held May 21 at the Deer Ridge Golf Course in Brentwood. "Led by Philippine Consul General Marciano Paynor Jr. and the Consuls General of Indonesia and Korea, over 90 other golfers, mostly from the Filipino community in the San Francisco Bay Area joined the one-day golf tournament," the DFA said in a news release on its website. It said the Consulate General organized the golf tournament for the first time and Paynor was pleased with the large turnout of golfers and supporters. Tony Limgenco emerged as the champion for the Low Net with a net score of 71. He was followed by Jose Cruz and Oscar Palicte. For the Low Gross, Kevin Estrella came out as the champion with a pro-like performance of 5 under 66. He was followed by Cesar Rodulfo, who carded a 77 and Ricky Tejada, who scored 78. Low Net's champion is Tony Lingenco, President of the Mabuhay Golf Club in San Francisco, who also helped organize the event as the Tournament Director. Police Senior Superintendent Edwin Erni of the Office of the Police Representative attached to the Consulate General assisted Lingenco in organizing the event. Aside from the fun and friendship enjoyed by the golfers, many raffle prizes were given away from golf clubs to airline tickets to Hawaii and the Philippines. "With the rousing success of the first golf tournament organized by the Consulate, many golfers have clamored to make this an annual event for the community," the DFA said. The proceeds from the tournament will be given to the educational assistance program of the Dumb Jones Loakan Fund in Baguio City. The sponsors included Lucky Chances Casino, Callaway, Might Corporation (Philippines) Mango Tours, Simply Calamansi Juice, Taste Buds Filipino Restaurant, Anthony de Guzman, Pacific Air Leisure Services, Philippine Airlines, Alvin Padilla and Van Wagner. - VVP, GMA News