TOP GAN — JGFP’s dynamic chief steers jungolf to new heights

There's a big room in Oliver Gan's office building in Quezon City dedicated to the Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines.

It has two office staff, golf sets, boxes, trophies, shirts and two large white boards filled up with schedules and marginal notes.

That particular afternoon, Gan was charting the interschool championships which is JGFP's major event of the year.

He was going through the logistics of the competitions as well as the events JGFP is staging leading up the interschool.

Hectic day in the office for the 40-year-old Gan.

Except that his real office was in the adjacent room where he runs the family business.

"Running our family business and running the JGFP is easy for me. As long as there are no parents complaining," Gan said jokingly.

"But that is impossible. Between the two, it seems like running the family business is easier."

Yet despite that, Gan has been hands-on in JGFP. And for good reasons.

One of them is the fact that Gan is himself a national jungolf champion. The other is because he has two daughters, Nicole and Stephanie, who happen to be two of the most promising jungolfers in the country.

Gan said he's playing golf at least once a week. But his downtime is not entirely for golf.

"I used to play baseball and volleyball back in high school but concentrated on golf when my teammates outgrew me," Gan said.

Lately, his evenings are spent on the basketball court.

"I used to play in the Xavier Alumni Basketball League," said Gan, who acts as the team "owner," being both the manager and playing coach of their batch.

He is also chairman for sports in the alumni association of Xavier School.

On the national level, Gan is former program officer of the Philippine Sports Institute for the National Capital Region and adviser for golf at the Games and Amusements Board.

Clearly, his heart belongs to golf. And it shows in his work at JGFP.

"We parents invest so much time and effort in our kids' golf. We now know that our efforts are not wasted," Gan said.

"Before, golf was very exclusive. Not everyone can play it. Especially the children. Now our efforts to give golf a wider talent pool is gaining traction. Everyone is taking notice and is starting to cooperate."

That's why JGFP is working on "giving it back to the kids, especially the under-privileged," supporting several scholars.

Through Gan's initiatives, JGFP has been gaining the support of the private sector which is crucial in every grassroots program. JGFP, too, has reached Mindanao where there are a lot of untapped talents.

And just recently, it announced that former Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo as JGFP's "godfather."

"I think we are doing well. People know junior golf is in good hands. Businessmen are supporting the foundation. We are staging tournaments left and right. Golf courses offer to hold our events. We are getting invitations and accreditations from all over the world," Gan said.

But what Gan is counting as his biggest moment was when JGFP managed to span to Visayas and Mindanao which will soon have their own inter-school meets.

"All the regional winners, we will pit them against each other in a truly national inter-school championships," Gan said.

"And from there we get the players to represent the country in international meets."

Such ambitious plans for JGFP. But nothing far-fetched with Gan at the helm.