PATRICK Gregorio is keeping his fingers crossed, hoping that Philippine sports will reach greater heights in 2026.  PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PSC
GOLF

PSC wants golf in batang pinoy

Ivan Suing

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) wants to include golf in the roster of sports for this year’s Batang Pinoy in Bacolod City.

PSC chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio said he wants more kids playing the sport and sees the Batang Pinoy, one of the country’s premier grassroots programs, as a way to introduce it to more people.

Golf will gain more public attention this year as it will be played in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

“We will solve that. It can be done through the support of the golf courses and the PSC,” Gregorio said.

“I know the golf courses in Bacolod are beautiful. If we could include golf, we will do it because we have been pushing this sport at the grassroots level.”

Gregorio said Bianca Pagdanganan’s fourth-place finish in the 2024 Paris Olympics was one of the key factors in promoting the sport at the grassroots level.