Edoc eyes Finals as Riviera battles loom

SILANG, Cavite — Zoji Edoc sets his sights on nothing less than a victory as the ICTSI Junior PGT Luzon Series resumes today with the Riviera JPGT Championship at the Couples course of the Riviera Golf Club Inc. here.

With the stakes rising and the Finals drawing closer, Edoc hopes to ride the momentum of his strong third-place finish at the Junior World in San Diego.

He is keen to put his refined game to the test as he seeks not just a second leg win in the boys’ 7-10 age division but also to formalize his berth in the elite ICTSI Junior PGT Finals slated set from 7 to 10 October at The Country Club in Laguna.

Already a winner in the Sherwood Hills leg, the Taytay-born prodigy currently has 39 points in the standings, bolstered by runner-up finishes at Eagle Ridge and Splendido Taal.

Another win this week in the 36-hole tournament would all but guarantee him a spot among the Luzon representatives who will square off against their Visayas-Mindanao counterparts in the Ryder Cup-style championship.

The young ace, however, faces tough competition from a stacked field of contenders, including Asher Abad, Halo Pangilinan, Alexian Ching, Paul Yambao, James Padron, Jethro Bayron, Matteo dela Cruz, Samuel Ababa, Andre Muyot and Giulio Ballado — all determined to go all out in a bid to climb the ranks and gain ground on the tightly packed leaderboard.

In the girls’ 7-10 division, the intensity is just as high, with Penelope Sy (30 points) and Tyra Garingalao (28) seeking to solidify their places inside the Top 4. But they will need to fend off a strong challenge from Bulacan’s Venus delos Santos, who lurks dangerously in fifth with 24 points and is poised to make a late surge in the race for Finals qualification in the series organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

With Mavis Espedido (45) and Athena Serapio (37) virtually securing the top two spots, the battle for the remaining berths is shaping up to be a dramatic, wide-open race in this fifth leg of the seven-stage regional series, which has drawn a strong 77-player field across three age categories.

Meanwhile, fireworks are expected in the boys’ 11-14 division, also set over 36 holes, where the leaderboard is as volatile as ever. Ryuji Suzuki (42) and Vito Sarines (39), who are skipping this leg, currently lead the pack, but Jacob Casuga, sitting in third with 35 points, is gunning for a breakthrough win to cement his Finals spot.