CITING several factors, golf secretary general Bones Floro believes that all three soon-to-be Olympic bound golfers Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan and Juvic Pagunsan are capable of podium finishes, possibly even gold, in the Tokyo Olympic Games next month.
“I have been very vocal about this. All three (Saso, Pagdanganan and Pagunsan) have realistic medal finishes, even gold,” Floro said yesterday in his maiden appearance in the Philippine Sportswriters Association online forum.
“Why? They have proven it. They have heart, their work ethic is amazing. Sobrang disiplina ng mga Olympian natin,” the National Golfers Association of the Philippines official, who is friends to all golfers and keep tabs on them regularly, stressed.
Newly-crowned US Women’s champion Saso, Pagdanganan and Pagunsan are virtual shoo-ins for Tokyo and are currently ranked Nos. 8 and 41 in the women’s division and No. 51 in the men’s division, respectively, in the International Golf Federation Olympic qualifying rankings.
The Olympic cut-off date for the men’s division is on June 21 while the women’s division is on June 28, with the top 60 golfers in the list eligible to play in the Olympic golf tournaments.
Due to the proximity of the playing dates of two major golf tournaments, Pagunsan may have to sacrifice his stint in the prestigious 149th British Open to play for the country in Tokyo.
