BUKIDNON. — Wire-to-wire victories defined the battle for supremacy in two age divisions of the ICTSI Del Monte Junior PGT Championship, with frontrunners from Davao and Cagayan de Oro splitting top honors with two titles apiece here on Thursday.
Davao’s Soleil Molde and Kimberly Baroquillo turned in dominant performances in the girls’ 7-10 and 11-14 divisions, respectively, in their 36-hole showdowns. Baroquillo punctuated her dominant campaign with a hole-in-one on No. 12 of the Del Monte Golf Club.
On the boys’ side, CDO’s Jamie Barnes and Ken Guillermo emerged triumphant in the same age brackets, dashing the hopes of local bets and keeping the homegrown talents winless in the kickoff leg of the four-stage Mindanao swing of the Visayas-Mindanao Series.
Baroquillo displayed remarkable consistency, firing a second straight 73 for a 146 total, four strokes ahead of Mactan leg winner Britanny Tamayo, who posted another 75 for a 150. CDO’s Isabella Espina placed third with a 168 after an 87.
“I really aimed for the right side, going against my caddie’s advice to hit it straight,” recalled 13-year-old Kimberly Baroquillo of her hole-in-one. “It landed on the right and rolled straight into the hole.”
She used a TaylorMade 7-iron to ace the 147-yard No. 12, with her remarkable feat earning her a certificate and P10,000 in cash courtesy of Del Monte Golf Club.
