De La Salle University Team 1 flexed its muscle and served early notice of its title aspirations in the inaugural ICTSI Intercollegiate Tour, topping both the men’s and women’s individual and team competitions in the tournament’s launch at Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Cavite here on Monday.

Seasoned amateur Perry Bucay led the way in the men’s individual play with a one-over-par 73, edging College of Saint Benilde’s Sean Granada by one after the latter stumbled with three straight bogeys from No. 14 to close with a 74.

Ranz Balay-odao of the University of the Cordilleras tied for third with University of the Philippines’ Joshua Buenaventura with 76s.

In the women’s side, La Salle’s Julia Lua showcased her poise and shotmaking with an 87 to top the 18-hole event by six strokes over University of the Philippines’ Katrisse Date, who carded a 93. Lua’s teammate Stacey Chan placed third with a 98.

The tournament, co-presented by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments (PGT) Inc. and the Philippine Golf Foundation, served primarily as a test run to iron out technical and logistical aspects ahead of the official kickoff on 18 June.

The soft launch allowed teams and players to adjust to the competitive format, build chemistry, and address kinks in scoring and operations as the PGTI and the Philippine Golf Foundation aim to establish a long-term collegiate golf circuit.

“This was all about familiarization and fine-tuning,” said tournament director Jack Imperial. “The official stroke play event begins in July, and this was crucial to ensure everything runs smoothly moving forward.”

Rounds 2 to 4 will be staged on 27 July (men), 3 August (women), 11 August (both), and 17 August (men), 24 August (women), with the grand finals set from 23 to 25 September. Venues will be announced soon.

Despite the non-bearing nature of the launch event, team standings were still tracked, and La Salle also ruled the men’s team play under the three-to-play, two-to-count format.

Bucay’s 73 and Santino Laurel’s 79 combined for a 152 aggregate, edging UP’s 153 from Joshua Buenaventura (76) and Emilio Carpio (77).

Saint Benilde Team 1, behind Sean Granada’s 74 and David Guangko’s 81, placed third with a 155, followed by La Salle Team 2 (162), University of Cordilleras (166), Saint Benilde Team 2 (169), UP 2 (173), La Salle 5 (176), La Salle 3 (178) and La Salle 4 (181).