BACOLOD CITY — Eastridge Golf Club enters the 76th Philippine Airlines Interclub golf team championships as the team to beat starting Tuesday at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club and Bacolod Golf Club.

Fielding nearly the same lineup that finished second to Manila Southwoods in Cagayan de Oro last year, Eastridge is seeded first based on the average handicap of its players. Rolando Bregente Jr. leads with the lowest handicap at -4.30 followed by Ronel Taga-An (-4.10) and Alexander Bisera (-3.10).

The rest of the team includes Jeff Lumbo, Chris John Remata, Edison Tabalin, Gary Sales, and junior standout Vito Sarines, the newest addition.

Defending champion Manila Southwoods ranks second, featuring a lineup of top junior players. Perry Bucay leads the team with a -5.40 handicap, followed by Shinichi Suzuki at -3.50. The team also includes juniors Miko Granada, Emil Hernandez, Santino Laurel, Zeus Sara and Patrick Tambalque.

Jerome Delariarte, Southwood’s assistant general manager, is also attempting a comeback to provide experience and stability to the youth-laden squad.

Southwoods captain Thirdy Escaño said it would be an exciting battle, “but not gonna be easy.”

The Carmona-based squad has won six of the last seven editions.

Manila Southwoods held its final practice round on Monday at Bacolod Golf Club (formerly Binitin) while Eastridge had completed its practice rounds.

Del Monte and Tagaytay Highlands-Team IMG round out the championship division.

Del Monte is led by junior Apollo Batican, while Tagaytay Highlands features top club players Masaichi Otake, Raymund Sangil and Ace Stehmeier.

Championship teams will compete at NOGCC (Marapara) in the first round, then move to Binitin for the next two rounds.

A total of 92 teams will compete in the four-day event, divided into Championship, Founders, Aviator, Sportswriters and Friendship brackets.

Each team can have up to eight players, but only four can compete in each round. Players are limited to a maximum of two rounds.

The tournament follows the PAL scoring system: 1 point for a bogey, 2 for a par, 3 for a birdie, 4 for an eagle, 5 for a hole-in-one, and 6 for a double eagle.

The 76th staging of the PAL Interclub is supported by Platinum sponsors PRIMAX Broadcasting Network and Asian Journal.

Mastercard is a gold sponsor while RMN is a silver sponsor.

ABS-CBN Global is joining as a bronze sponsor while VISA, Philippine National Bank, SM Bacolod, Tanduay and Asia Brewery are minor sponsors. Citadines is a hotel partner.

The team composition of four teams entered in the championship division:

Manila Southwoods — Perry Bucay, Jerome Delariarte, Miko Granada, Emil Hernandez, Santino Laurel, Zeus Sara, Shinichi Suzuki, Patrick Tambalque.

Eastridge — Alexander Bisera, Rolando Bregente Jr., Jeff Lumbo, Chris John Remata, Gary Sales, Vito Sarines, Edison Tabalin, Ronel Taga-An.

Del Monte — Apollo Batican, Miguel Linaac, Xhylas Luzon, Alexis Nailga, Cliff Nuneza, Mark Parilla, Belly Vidal, Simon Wahing.

Tagaytay Highlands-Team IMG — Ace Stehmeier, Francis Bumagat, Terrence Macatangay, Masaichi Otake, Raymund Sangil, Justin Tambunting, Joaquin Tolentino, Yoon Sung Hwan.