Eastridge on the brink of stunning win

Eastridge-Primehomes Team 1 edged closer to ending Manila Southwoods’ decade-long reign in the 74th Januarius Fil-Am Invitational with a solid performance at the challenging Baguio Country Club on Friday.

Jhondie Quibol, who set a single-round scoring record of 45 points at Camp John Hay Golf Club earlier this week, once again led the charge for Eastridge, carding 34 points. This was one of the two best rounds of the day for the team, which collected 125 points to take the lead by a single point over Southwoods.

Supporting Quibol’s effort were Ronel Taga-an with 33 points, Rolando Bregente with 30, and Jeffren Lumbo contributing 28.

For Southwoods, Coby Rolida bounced back after being excluded from the scoring in the first two rounds, delivering 34 points. He was followed by Enrique Dimayuga with 32 points, while Miko Granada and Jet Hernandez each tallied 29 points.

After three rounds, Eastridge leads the premier Fil-Championship division with a total of 422 points, holding a six-point advantage over Southwoods, which now faces a steep challenge to retain its crown with just one round remaining.

Meanwhile, first-round leader Januarius Private Equity faltered with 115 points on the day, dropping to a total of 404 points. Terence Macatangay and Masaichi Otake paced Januarius with 33 and 31 points, respectively, while Jet Mathay added 28 and Raymund Sangil chipped in 23.

The stage is set for an intense final round as Eastridge aims to end Southwoods’ dominance and clinch the championship.

In the Am Championship at CJH golf course, Manila Southwoods Team 2 rode on Zeus Sara’s 41 points to take a 16-point lead over Eastridge-Prime Homes Team 2.

Sara scattered seven birdies against two bogeys and got solid back from Patrick Tambalque (38), Zach Villaroman (36), and Tristan Padilla (35).

Southwoods’ second team ended the day with 150 points for 383 total.

Eastridge collected 138 from Chris John Remata 37, Gary Sales 36, Edison Tabalin 33, and Richard Joson 32.

In far third was Batangas Barakos with 348 points.

Friday’s championship results:

Fil-CH — Eastridge-Primehomes Team 1 422 (139-158-125), Manila Southwoods Team 1 416 (139-153-124), Januarius Private Equity Team 1 404 (149-140-115), SPES Team 1 372 (134-132-106), Time Cargo Logistics Team 1 326 (117-118-91)

Am-CH — Manila Southwoods Team 2 383 (113-120-150), Eastridge Primehomes Team 2 367 (114-115-138), Batangas Barakos 348 (122-112-114), Januarius Truespec 320 (101-92-127), Valley 284 (82-93-109).