Tagaytay midlands: Ateneo's Monique Mendoza carded an 81 to seize the lead in the women's individual competition during the opening round of the inaugural UAAP Season 88 golf tournament. University of the Philippines' Annika Gozum took solo second with an 82, while La Salle's Julia Lua, who dominated last year's inaugural ICTSI Intercollegiate Tournament and powered the Taft-based squad to the team championship, placed third with an 86.
According to Philippines News Agency, La Salle's Alexa Dacanay was fourth with an 87, followed by Ateneo's Simi Tinio (88), La Salle's Donnabel Magsino (92), Ateneo's Andie Joson (94), UST's Deborah Escote (96), UP's Ava Heredia (99), and Ateneo's Renee Heredia (100). Mendoza, aged 21, expressed the importance of mental strength in her performance, stating, 'The key was staying mentally strong. I played really poorly after the first nine, but I told myself to keep pushing and recover.'
Ateneo also surged to the early lead in the ladies' team competition with a score of 263. La Salle carded a 265 for second place, followed by UP (288), UST (302), and Adamson (365).
In the men's division, La Salle's Perry Bucay finished with a 72 to take a one-stroke lead over teammate Zachary Castro (73) in the individual competition. UP's Joshua Buenaventura (74) and Miggy Roque (75) were third and fourth, respectively.
La Salle's Miguel Fusilero shot a 76 to share fifth place with Ateneo's Glenn Unabia, as the Green Archers seized control of the team standings in the four-to-count, three-to-play format with a 221 aggregate. This was five strokes ahead of UP, which tallied 226 with Emilio Carpio's counting with a 77. Ateneo ranked third with a 240 total after Juan Escano and Schmuel Tan carded 80 and 84, respectively. UST (261) was fourth, followed by Adamson (370).
