Rolida, Gica share top honors at 30th PAL Mabuhay Miles golf invitational

Amateur golfer Jacob Brendon Rolida and businessman Ray Gica shared top honors at the 30th Mabuhay Miles Elite Invitational, posting the best gross and net scores respectively at Orchard Golf and Country Club on Tuesday, according to Mindanao Times.

Rolida shot a one-under-par 71 on the Palmer course, with six birdies offset by five bogeys. The result extends a strong run for the amateur, who won low amateur honors in the previous two stops of the local professional tour over two weeks, held at the South Pacific and Apo courses in Davao City.

Gica nearly overtook Rolida. He eagled the par-5 sixth hole and birdied the seventh on the way to a gross 74, which gave him a net four-under-par 68 under the System 36 scoring format used for the 18-hole event. Nearly 300 members of Philippine Airlines' frequent flyer program took part, playing under intense heat on the club's Player and Palmer courses.

Prizes for the top finishers included 134,000 Mabuhay Miles credits and a Sealy single adjustable bed valued at more than P300,000. PAL President Richard Nuttall, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Carlos Luis Fernandez and Board Director David Ong attended the awards ceremony, which was hosted by Alice Dixson and Jude Turcuato.

Division winners were Ian Davin Rosales (Class A), Abraham Rojas (Class B), Romeo Ignacio (Class C), Augie Palisoc (Seniors), Denise Eliana Mendoza (Jungolf), Leticia Linnel Bautista (Ladies) and Roberto Samson (Guest).

Rolida also won the longest drive prize with a 303-yard shot on Palmer No. 4 and recorded the most birdies with six, while Gica took nearest-to-the-pin on Palmer No. 7. Other special-hole winners were Mark Lester Guanzon for a 263-yard drive on Player No. 18, Felix Gurrea for nearest-to-the-pin on Player No. 3, and Dennis Mendoza and Leonides Paragsa, who had 14 pars and 14 bogeys, respectively.

A BMW X1 xDrive25e xLine worth P3.398 million was offered as a hole-in-one prize, but no player claimed it despite several near misses, the report said.