Philippine Amateur Golf
Igorots in Philippine Amateur Golf
Dear Fellow Igorots, Especially Golfers,
First of all, I wish to greet all the fathers among you a belated Happy Father's Day.
I am pleased to announce once again that two Igorot golfers, Harry Paltongan (President of Empire East) and Eulalio Austin ( the first Igorot Vice President for Operations of Philex Mining), have continued to assert Igorot dominance in amateur golf in the Philippines.
In the Admiral's Cup held at the Philippine Navy golf course last June 20 participated in by 275 golfers, Atty. Harry Paltongan was among the top ten best golfers and he also had the longest drive. By the way, Harry and Fernan Rimando, another great Igorot golfer, gave me on that day their contributions to the IGO scholarship earlier solicited by Caridad Fiar-od.
In my earlier email about Igorot golfers, I also mentioned about that Eulalio Austin had been among several top notch amateur golfers in the Philippine mining industry. Well, he proved it again last June 12, emerging as the overall champion during the bilateral golf tournament involving Philex Mining and PETI Trading/Paramina.
Attached are pictures of these gentlemen receiving their trophies.
Have a good day.
Rufino (a.k.a Boomie)
--- On Mon, 5/25/09, rufinobomasang@yahoo.com wrote:
From: rufinobomasang@yahoo.com
Subject: Yes, the Igorot Can
To: "Igorot IGO" , mountainprovince@yahoogroups.com, "St Mary's School"
Date: Monday, May 25, 2009, 8:04 PM
Dear Fellow Igorots, especially Golfers
I am pleased to inform Igorot golfers that once again I have witnessed Igorot golfers prove their dominance in the golf courses here in Metro Manila and nearby areas. Last Friday, May 22, NorAsian Energy (an oil and gas company I happen to chair) invited Harry Paltongan, Fernan Rimando, and Virgilio Bucat to join the 2nd annual golf tournamnent of the Association of Filipinos for the Advancement of Geosciences (AFAG) at the Ayala Greenfields. As I had predicted, Harry won the overall championship (lowest gross), Virgilio won the lowest net, while Fernan won the Class A 1st runner-up. Fernan's score was actually the same as that of the Class A champion, a non-Igorot, but Fernan lost by count back. These Igorot golfers bested about a hundred Filipino and foreign executives and geologists involved in the energy industry.
This was not an isolated case. Harry was actually the defending champion, having won the overall championship in the 1st AFAG golf tournament in 2008. I have participated in at least a dozen other golf tournaments in 2008 and early 2009 where Harry and/or Virgilio participated and in all cases one of them was overall champion and the other scored the lowest net. When Fernan was around, he was never far behind the two. In golf tournaments organized by the mining industry, I have likewise witnessed the dominance of Igorot mining engineers like Randy Cadiogan, John Fomaneg, and Eulalio Austin.
Even if I am not of the same calibre as these golfers, their consistent dominance has given me bragging rights about Igorot golfers. Last Fiday, I was in fact so confident of their performance that I told my colleagues in the energy sector that I was willing to bet against any of them that the champion was going to be an Igorot golfer. They all smiled and thought I was joking. When the results came out as I predicted, many of them were of course astonished at how Igorot golfers could be that good. I jokingly reminded them that golf was after all invented by a highlander from Scotland and golf must be suited for highlanders. I likewise reminded them that while the Scots are the highlanders of the United Kingdom, the Igorots are the highlanders of the Philippines.
When asked for more information about these Igorots golfers are, I quickly added that they are not just top notch golfers, but are accomplished professionals as well. Harry Paltongan, a lawyer/accountant from Bauko, is currently President of Empire East, a major subsidiary of Megaworld; one of the country's major land developers; Virgilio, an engineer from Sagada, owns and runs Sagada Builders, a long time land development contractor in Metro Manila and vicinity; while Fernan, an accountant from Tadian, currently works as the Chief Financial Officer of Berong Nickel, part of the vast Fred Ramos group of companies. All my colleagues are impressed and I am sure they now have a much higher regard for Igorots than ever before.
I am inspired by these young Igorots and I hope you too are inspired, whether you are a golfer or not. In my view, the most important lesson that we Igorots can all learn from these guys is that the most effective way to get other Filipinos to respect us, Igorots, is for us to do our best in every endeavour where we are involved.
Attached are photos of the awarding ceremonies during the AFAG golf tournament. I just want to point out that while Harry, Virgilio, and Fernan are holding winner's trophies, the trophy I am holding is just an appreciation trophy for our company as one of the major sponsors.
Have a good day.
Rufino