Jerome Delariarte, a one-time national champion and multi-pro events winner, will come out of retirement to play for Manila Southwoods as it seeks another successful defense of the men’s regular championship division crown in Bacolod in less than two weeks.
Now 46 years old and more than a decade removed from competitive play, Delariarte has reverted back to amateur and will make the 76th edition of the country’s unofficial team golf championship as his comeback as he takes his experience to lead a talent-stacked Southwoods lineup.
“I need him there to provide stability to the team, and of course, contribute,” Southwoods’ non-playing skipper Thirdy Escano said.
Delariarte has been with Southwoods for more than six years now, starting off as the golf director before slowly transitioning into the exclusive club’s assistant general manager, a position that somehow affords him to practice and play to get back his old form.
A many-time member of the Philippine Team, Delariarte, whose amateur career highlight was a Phl Am triumph and winning The Country Club Invitational his biggest pro win, played a lot of years as a member of the rock-solid Southwoods team together with Angelo Que and Artemio Murakami more than two decades back.
“His inclusion into the team has already been approved by the board (of directors of SW),” Escano said with a chuckle.
“He will leave the club for several days under the care of the other officials.”
Seniors’ action actually gets the tournament going on 10 February with Del Monte shooting for a rare repeat.
Luisita and Canlubang, who own the most storied rivalry in the history of the Interclub, are again listed as the favorites in the 55-and-above division and it will be interesting to see how Del Monte, which won in runaway style last year in Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon, handles play away from home.
“It’s going to be a very wide open tournament,” Jeric Hechanova, the non-playing captain of the Luisita seniors, said in an earlier interview.
“It will all boil down to the third and fourth men of each team.”
