Rolando Bregente Jr. carved his name into collegiate golf history on Wednesday, rising from the pine-lined fairways of Del Monte Golf and Country Club to rule the inaugural National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 101 golf tournament presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

The 24-year-old Lyceum of the Philippines University standout, who first swung a club at age eight while his father worked as a caddie, delivered a composed one-over-par 73 at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s West Course to clinch the groundbreaking title.

Bregente’s round was powered by five birdies, enough to edge guest team University of Asia and the Pacific’s Zach Villaroman by a single stroke, with College of Saint Benilde’s Sean Granada settling for third, two shots adrift.

“This is the first NCAA golf tournament, so I promised myself to give my best. My name will be in the record books as the first to win it,” said Bregente, who counts Philippine golf icon Frankie Miñoza as his inspiration.

Already a two-time National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) championship division winner this year and a national team mainstay who placed fifth in the last Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, Bregente’s victory underscores his steady rise from provincial prodigy to collegiate champion.

PSC chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio hailed the NCAA golf tournament as a breakthrough in grassroots sports, declaring it seamlessly aligned with the PSC’s newly launched Fairways to the Future program along with the NGAP.

Together, the NCAA golf tournament and the Fairways to the Future initiative now stand inseparably linked, opening fairways to junior golfers nationwide and transforming competition into a genuine pathway for development.

By designating government-owned and partner courses as training grounds, the PSC and NGAP have fused grassroots access with elite competition, ensuring that the NCAA fairways serve not only as a proving ground for student-athletes but also as a national pipeline for the next generation of champions.