With the impetus from the world governing body The R&A to grow the game, the National Golf Association of the Philippines has carried out various post-pandemic programs and events in partnership with golf clubs and charter members aimed at fulfilling this far-ranging goal.

In the last 26 months alone, the NGAP was able to bring back to the country two major events - the APGC Junior Championships and the Nomura Cup - and played a big role in the Queen Sirikit Cup that featured the region’s best amateurs in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation and partner venues.

The Nomura Cup and Queen Sirikit Cup were both hosted by Manila Southwoods with Japan and Korea re-asserting their dominance, respectively, while Chinese-Taipei swept both the boys and girls titles disputed at the APGC Junior Championships held at the Orchard.

“The success of these events were the fruits of our collaboration with external and internal partners which are so crucial in moving forward with our goals,” said NGAP president Martin Lorenzo.

Lorenzo said that through the invites sent by the APGC for these events not to mention the Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, local amateurs making up the national team are given the chance to test their mettle against the emerging talents in Asia.

The challenge, according to Lorenzo, is how to keep our own stable of talents competitive given that since the pandemic ended, there is now a continuing cycle of major competitions year-round that will keep them busy.

That task is now being handled by the new national team coach Abe Rosal who is supervising the progress of the national training pool together with Boyet Zaragosa. And funding will be made available to make sure that the country will be well-represented in these multi-nation tournaments.

In the other fronts, the NGAP will also continue to collaborate with charter members like the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines (WGAP) to pursue their own projects the way they did with the Queen Sirikit Cup for the coming year. The WGAP has seen its roster grow by leaps and bounds and have put a series of events in its calendar in place.

Together with the WGAP and the Philippine Sports Commission, the 'Ready, Set, Golf' grassroots program was also launched to introduce the game to a larger audience and foster quality time for families. 

The amateur scene couldn’t have been busier with a year-round cycle of well-attended events that included major tournaments like the National Amateurs and the National Doubles as well as the various legs of the NGAP Junior Series that provided the venues for kids to hone their skills.

Also, teams were sent to clubs for course rating updates that are crucial for the World Handicapping System processes to produce accurate and updated handicaps for local and foreign golfers.

Off the course, the NGAP collaborated with The R&A for three rules and refereeing  seminars that enabled club officials and tournament organizers to earn The R&A certification for skills needed to carry out their line of work.

With the 2024 Olympics set for next year, the NGAP will be closely monitoring the performance of elite talents like Bianca Pagdanganan and Miguel Tabuena to ensure that they will enjoy the best possible support on their way to a possible stint in Paris.