They came anyway
The rain did not make the day easy. Fairways were wet, grips were slippery and every shot demanded greater concentration.
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The rain did not make the day easy. Fairways were wet, grips were slippery and every shot demanded greater concentration.
Rain came and went as I boarded the Genesis bus at Trinoma on Saturday, bound for Mimosa Plus Golf and Country Club in Clark.
With the southwest monsoon pounding parts of Luzon, I had second thoughts. What if the rain became too heavy? What if the fairways turned into puddles? What if the weather washed out the JGFP pre-season Interschool tournament and the final leg of the College Series?
Still, I decided to go.
I packed an egg sandwich for the two-hour journey, climbed aboard and headed north, not knowing whether I was traveling to a golf tournament — or simply making a long trip to watch the rain.
But sometimes, you just have to show up.
More than 200 young golfers did exactly that.
The Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines (JGFP) was staging its pre-season Interschool tournament alongside the final leg of its College Series at Mimosa Plus. With two shotgun starts scheduled, the course was already buzzing when I arrived.
The practice green was crowded with college players preparing for their rounds and youngsters barely 10 years old waiting for their chance to play.
Umbrellas opened and closed as the rain persisted. Players moved carefully around the green, protecting their clubs and searching for the driest patches to practice on.
For a moment, the age gap disappeared. They were simply young golfers preparing to compete.
Sometimes, I wonder what makes people commit so completely to golf.
These players came from different places, different schools, and different age groups. Some had traveled for hours through the rain to reach Clark.
Mike Lim, whose daughter Candice was competing, told me he drove through conditions that reduced visibility to almost zero.
Like me, they could have stayed home. They could have decided that the weather was too unpredictable, or that the risk of a wasted trip was not worth taking.
But they showed up.
And because they did, the competition went ahead.
The rain did not make the day easy. Fairways were wet, grips were slippery and every shot demanded greater concentration. Umbrellas became part of the uniform. Players had to adjust their routines, manage their expectations and remain patient whenever the weather disrupted the rhythm of play.
Yet there was little sense of disappointment. They came to the scorer’s table soaked, water dripping from their umbrellas.
They were not there to complain about the conditions. They were there to compete.
That was the most striking part of the day — not simply that more than 200 young golfers had turned up, but that they were prepared to accept whatever the course and the weather demanded of them.
The turnout became more than a number. It was a snapshot of junior golf’s growing appeal in the Philippines — and of young players eager to gain experience, test themselves against stronger competition and, above all, play the game they love.
For JGFP, the response was equally significant. Its expanding tournament program is creating more opportunities for young golfers and their families, even when the weather threatens to disrupt the schedule.
Golf, after all, has never promised perfect conditions.
It teaches players to deal with wind, rain, bad lies, missed putts, slow starts and unexpected delays. It asks them to remain composed when circumstances are beyond their control.
More than anything, it teaches them to keep going. When we hit a ball out of bounds, we agonize — but only briefly. We reach into our pockets, take out another ball, and continue.
That lesson was visible at Mimosa Plus.
The young golfers came knowing the tournament could be canceled, the wet course would play tougher, and mud would cover their clothes and shoes.
They came anyway.
