Philippines

You’ve heard by now that I made an eagle and two birdies in a tournament round at Boracay in November, winning a behemothian trophy and subsequently taking a hiatus from golf to indulge my other interests.

I’m still basking in the refulgence of my stunning victory at Boracay. But it would be remiss of me to omit the two small defeats that offset my three gigantic wins in November.

After finishing my training at Baguio and the practice round at Boracay, I took a break from golf and went searching for balut on the beaches and backroads of the island.

You have seen me with the Ryder Cup in Spain (at right). And you have seen me with the US Open trophy at Pebble Beach (below). So you know that I am quite familiar with the laurels of the game.

I might have titled this A Month of Eating Dangerously or something similarly vague, but I find the specifics just draw one in, don’t they? At England in July the most dangerous thing I ate was clotted cream.

Does finishing 2nd count as a defeat? In some circles it may, but when you win a big white shoe bag adorned with pink and purple ribbons, it sure feels like a great victory.

I was at the Philippines last week to play in the Founders Cup tournament at The Orchard Golf and Country Club. As sponsors of the tournament, Asian Turfgrass Center along with Bernhard and Company were able to enter a team in the sponsors division, and playing off scratch (I don’t have an official handicap at present, unfortunately!

My golf this month was concentrated in one week of play at the Philippines, where I played in the Chairman’s Cup at Sherwood Hills and then the Founder’s Cup at The Orchard.

Finding myself in the Philippines on Thanksgiving this year, I went to a christening party for the new offices of Golforce Inc., a company that provides golf course construction and maintenance services in Asia.

Manila International Airport’s new Terminal 3 has just opened. I’m not sure how breaking the glass in case of fire will help in any way. susmariayosep.