Abdons dominate Southwoods Invitational

Ryan and John Kier Abdon sparkled with 88 points at the Masters course to bag the overall gross championship by an imposing five-point margin, while Manuel Siycha and Kenrick Samson matched that dominant victory, securing the net honors in the Southwoods Invitational held over the weekend in Carmona, Cavite,.

But Bobby Iñigo and Aldrich del Rosario emerged as the biggest winners, each driving home brand-new cars — a Mitsubishi XForce GLS and a 2025 Toyota Raize 1.2 M/T, respectively — after taking the grand prizes in the highly anticipated raffle draw.

Other lucky winners included John Cope, who won an Alaska cruise; Juan Paolo Caboboy, who took home an MF Electric Golf Cart; Noe Wong, who bagged an Ogawa massage chair; and Abigail Lapid, who secured a three-night stay at Hamp Court Palace in Taiwan.

The Abdons’ solid showing under the Best Ball format more than made up for their 69 points in Aggregate play at Legends, netting them a 157 total in the 36-hole tournament spread over four days in the host club’s premier member-guest tournament which drew a record 400 teams, totaling 800 players.

Manfred Guangko and Ronnie Littaua pooled 152 Stableford points, including 78 at Legends and 74 at Masters to finish second in the gross division, while Marvin Caparros and Benjie Sumulong placed third with 69 (Legends) and 82 (Masters) for a 151.

Siycha and Samson also banked on their superb team-up in Best Ball, producing 96 points on their way to a winning 177 total, including 81 points at Legends, for the net title.

Romeo Chong and Ralph Chong came in second in net play, pooling a 172 (82-90), while Lapid and Sarah Cruz combined for a 168 (76-92), nipping three other teams for third place honors via tiebreak.

Guangko and Littaua took the Division I trophy with a 160 from a pair of 80s, foiling the Rusty Bayani-Gary Sales (159), while Abigail Lapid and Sarah Cruz rode on a clutch 76-point output at Legends to clinch a two-point victory over Ian Arceo and Michael Ong in Division II.

Aurelio Gomez and Reynaldo Martinez also pulled off a two-point win in Division III, combining for a 168 (78-90) and nipping Jeffrey Co and Mark Gruba, who scored a 166 (74-92), while Romeo Chong and Ralph Chong stamped their class in Division IV, pooling a 172 (82-90), for a seven-point romp over Felix Chua and Dennis de Guzman, who scored a 165 (69-96).

In a fierce battle for Division V title, Steve Tycangco and Emir Tubayan pulled through over Juanco Las and Roland Lallana after the tiebreak. The two pairs posted identical scores of 72 at Legends and 96 at Masters for 168s. But Tycangco and Tubayan wound up with superior tiebreak score to clinch the crown.