Joe Sablan Jr. poses with the Super Senior Flight trophy alongside Committee Chair Shigeki Tenorio, left, and Tournament Director Peter “Dung” Tenorio during the awards ceremony of the 2024 Joeten Memorial Classic at Laolao Bay Golf & Resort on Saturday.
JOE Sablan JR. and Nick Reyes earned their time in the spotlight by claiming their respective flight titles in the 2024 Joeten Memorial Classic at the east course of Laolao Bay Golf & Resort on Saturday.
In the Super Senior Flight, which featured players with the most years of experience, Sablan clinched the title with a gross of 76.
Despite the challenges on some of the holes, Sablan managed to maintain a steady swing and accuracy throughout the east course. He struggled on the first few holes of the front nine, but he recovered with two birdies on holes #6 and #8 to lead the competition with a gross of 38.
The back nine proved to be tougher but Sablan remained consistent, starting off with a birdie on hole #10 and enough pars to end with another gross of 38.
With a combined gross total of 76, Sablan claimed his very first Super Senior Flight title.
“I’m very happy because a lot of super seniors are great golfers, too. So, it motivates me to do better and challenge them,” Sablan said, referring to previous champions.
“I would like to praise the Joeten family for putting up a great tournament and helping golfers by providing drinks and food to keep us energized on a very hot day. Thank you, too, to all the participants for coming out and helping out for a good cause,” he said. The tournament raises funds for the Joeten Daidai Foundation, a charitable organization.
Sablan also noted that he won the title after going head-to-head with his cousin, Richard Sablan.
Richard mirrored Joe’s performance on the front nine but was shy one stroke with a gross of 39. The two recorded a gross of 38 on the back nine so Richard had to settle for second place with a total gross of 77.
Coming in third was Edward Manibusan with a gross total of 78.
Other winners
Nick Reyes, center, poses with the A Flight trophy alongside Committee Chair Shigeki Tenorio, left, and Tournament Director Peter “Dung” Tenorio during the awards ceremony of the 2024 Joeten Memorial Classic at Laolao Bay Golf & Resort on Saturday.
The A Flight was won by Nick M. Reyes, who shot a gross total of 75.
Reyes sank two birdies only — one on the front and the other on the back nine — but he avoided bogeys to finish with a gross of 38 and 37 for a total score of 75.
“I didn’t know I was going to win today,” he said. “Joeten’s tournament is pretty awesome. There are a lot of prizes and I guess that’s what brings out a lot of people. And of course, we know [Tournament Director] Peter ‘Dung’ Tenorio who is also part of the Amigos Golf Club, so we had to support him.”
In second place was PC Wu who shot a gross of 42 on the front nine and 40 on the back nine for a gross total of 82. Coming in third was Dominic Siebenthal with a gross of 44 and 39 for a gross total of 83.
Anthony Benavente, center, poses with the Senior Flight trophy alongside Committee Chair Shigeki Tenorio, left, and Tournament Director Peter “Dung” Tenorio during the awards ceremony of the 2024 Joeten Memorial Classic at Laolao Bay Golf & Resort on Saturday.
In the Senior Flight, Anthony Benavente reigned supreme.
He shot a gross of 35 on the front nine and 37 on the back nine for a gross total of 72. Joe “Kamikaze” Camacho finished second by shooting a gross of 38 and 36 for a gross total of 74.
Third place went to Jim Arenovski who bested Joe Tudela in a scorecard playoff. The two shared a gross total of 85.
