STUDENT-ATHLETE golfers gain another platform to showcase their fine swing in the fairways and accuracy on the greens as the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., (PGTI) and Philippine Golf Foundation (PGF) launch the ICTSI Intercollegiate Golf Tour on June 16 at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club (GC) in Cavite.

Twelve collegiate squads banner the cast in the historic tourney aimed at establishing the foundation in making golf an official sport for student-athletes, at last, with possibility of formal scholarships down the road.

“The ultimate goal is to get student-athletes into golf and for golf to be recognized as an official sport by schools,” said PGF President Arsenic Laurel, who was joined by chairman Cesar Buenaventura along with Pilipinas Golf General Manager Colo Ventosa and international business manager Mohamed Shariz in the press launch on Tuesday at the Solaire Entertainment City in Parañaque.

“We are creating clear pathways for Filipino collegiate golfers to grow, compete and possibly to represent our country whether as part of the national team or on the professional stage.”

UAAP schools Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas and National University lead the fray with NCAA’s College of St. Benilde, Lyceum of the Philippines University and Mapua University.

Enderun Colleges, De La Salle-Dasmariñas and the University of the Cordilleras all the way from Baguio City complete the cast.

All teams will play in a stroke format all the way to the finale in September with three golfers to play and two to count as the trailblazing tourney roams around the finest golf courses in Metro Manila and Luzon for multiple legs.

The top individual players will also be honored after the Tour aside from the team championship as PGTI, PGF, ICTSI seek to discover new talents that will fly the Philippine golf high here and abroad.

For PGTI, that will be one of the greatest realizations of the Tour serving as a bridge between the collegiate, amateur, pro and national team golf.

“This Tour bridges the gap in the collegiate level as our junior and professional golf continues to thrive. We want more schools to build golf teams and eventually bring the sport into the leagues like the UAAP and the NCAA,” said Ms. Ventosa. — John Bryan Ulanday

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