DAVAO CITY - More than 100 young golfers from the region will participate in the Mindanao leg of the Junior Foundation of the Philippines (JGFP) Apo Circuit set Jan. 5 to 8 at the Apo Golf and Country Club.
Players for the five to 12-year-old brackets will be played on Thursday and Friday, while participants in the 13 to 18-year-old categories will see action on Saturday and Sunday.
Under the new board, this will be the first time that the JGFP will conduct a tournament of this magnitude at Apo Golf, or since its first and only event here back in 2014.
“We are very excited to have a real grassroots development for golf. After this Davao meet, we will also be doing a similar event in Cagayan de Oro City later this month,” said JGFP chairman Tommy Manotoc.
JGFP president Oliver Gan shared the same sentiments, hoping to discover new talents.
“We hope to discover new talents at the grassroots level, which is the mission of JGFP,” said Gan, a former golf consultant at the Games and Amusement Board (GAB).
“With the number of participants that we have, it’s already a success not only for the JGFP, but for the golfers because they will have a solid competition,” added Gan, who has invited Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte to grace the event.
The region has produced a number of successful world-class golfers over the years, including Apo’s own Tony Lascuna, Cassius Casas, Elmer Saban, Elmer Salvador, Jay Bayron, Jhonnel Ababa, national team member Elee Bisera and rising star Edison Tabalin.
Gan also expressed his gratitude to Apo Golf board, led by its president Leo Magno, for allowing the golf course to be the home of the JGFP in Mindanao.