General Admission
The cheat
By Al S. Mendoza
BAGUIO CITY—I am here once again for my yearly vow of working as Rules Official of the Fil-Am Invitational Golf Tournament at both the Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay.
The Seniors 55 years old and above began their play yesterday (Nov. 21) and will end on Nov. 26.
The Men’s Regular side of the annual event will be held on Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.
Since this is an amateur event, prizes do not include money.
But lucrative are the perks and raffle giveaways, which include tickets for cruise journeys in the Caribbean and the like.
Also, business class plane fares are raffled off during the Awards Night.
Many other prizes include a Toyota car staked for hole-in-one makers, golf carts, condo units and many others, like appliances and electronics.
But the main fare of the twin tournaments that started in 1949 and has continued uninterrupted for 66 years is the friendship and camaraderie fostered yearly.
Players from as far as New Zealand and Australia, Okinawa in Japan, South Korea, Canada and the United States fly in regularly for a two-week stint of golf and forging alliances with brothers from other nations.
In short, the Fil-Am Golf event has been the traditional breeding ground of golfers wanting to establish friendship that lasts a lifetime.
As the Cochairman of the Rules Committee with Jake P. Ayson the last 10 consecutive years, I’ve met many golfers who had been complete strangers at the start but have now become the closest of friends.
At the spark of a handshake the first time two golfers meet on the teeing ground, it could trigger a friendship for the ages.
Many are stories I have gathered through the years about how friendships are forged that survived the test of time.
One golfer bringing his family to the US would live in a fellow golfer’s home in the US because both golfers have built a bond at the Fil-Am Golf.
The Philippine-based golfer would return the complement by playing host to his US-based golfer/friend every time he visits the country.
Golfers in the Fil-Am are generally considered extremely friendly, whose motto is to always play the game to cultivate friendship first, and competition is merely incidental.
Thus, if a golfer is caught cheating, he is automatically banned for life from the tournament—including his team of five.
Jake and I actually collared one cheat last year.
He was banned from the tournament and his club was also suspended permanently from Fil-Am participation.
His fellow members threw him out of the club upon arrival in Manila, some canceling business contracts with the cheat resulting in lost millions of pesos worth of contracts.
When we play golf, our main opponent is our own self. You cheat and you effectively cheat your own soul.
When you are caught cheating, you are scarred. For life.
(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)
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