Fresh off recovering from an injury, Precious Zaragosa aims for nothing less than a top finish in the final leg of the ICTSI Junior PGT Luzon Series, which reels off Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Trece Martires, Cavite.
The two-leg champion is in dire need of ranking points to secure one of the coveted four spots in the Match Play Championship after a training injury forced her to sit out Series 6 at Mount Malarayat, Batangas last week.
Currently ranked No. 3 in the girls’ 13-15 age group with 46 points after six legs, Zaragosa faces stiff competition from Montserrat Lapuz and Kendra Garingalao, who are in hot pursuit with 36 and 28 points, respectively.
With just one leg remaining in the seven-stage Luzon series and the field facing new challenges at the demanding Sherwood Hills, the stakes are high as each contender eyes a ticket to the national finals slated for Oct. 1-4 at The Country Club in Laguna.
In the nationwide series organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., only the top four performances are counted toward final rankings. The best four finishers from the Luzon series, and the top two players from Visayas and Mindanao across various age categories, including 8-9, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18, will advance to the finals, alongside standout players from the multiple series.
Lisa and Mona Sarines, twins, currently lead the girls’ 13-15 division with 50 and 48 points, respectively, while Levonne Talion follows closely at fourth with 43 points, ensuring a competitive 54-hole showdown this week.
With 15, 12 and 10 points at stake for the top three finishers, the final leg promises a thrilling battle for the podium spots.
A similar intensity looms in the boys’ 13-15 division, where Jose Carlos Taruc (44 points) and John Paul Agustin, Jr. (41) aim to secure their positions at the top. Ramon Andres Fabie and Zianbeau Edoc, tied for fifth with 20 points, are preparing for one last push to break into the top four, with John Majgen Gomez currently holding a tenuous third place with 36 points.
In the boys’ 16-18 category, the race to the finals is equally fierce, with Zachary Villaroman and Rafael Mañaol striving for a Top 3 finish to punch their tickets to the finals of the series put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
Villaroman, boasting two second-place finishes, sits at fifth with 24 points, while Mañaol trails with 20 points after a strong second-place effort at Mount Malarayat behind Patrick Tambalque.
Mark Kobayashi, the Luisita leg winner, leads the pack with 47 points, followed by Tambalque (36 points). With Charles Serdenia virtually out of the race after participating in just two events, Francis Slavin (25 points) could secure a final spot with a solid performance this week.
Meanwhile, players who have already secured their finals berths, such as Athena Serapio and Tyra Garingalao (girls 8-9), and Isonn Angheng, Jesus Yambao and Zoji Edoc (boys 8-9), are using the final leg to fine-tune their preparations.
Serapio and Garingalao are in a tight race for the top spot with 37 and 36 points, respectively, while Angheng, Yambao and Edoc lead their division with 38, 35 and 32 points.
