28 SPORTS PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY February 16 - 28 , 2017
SPECTATOR
By Al Mendoza
LET us talk about Tiger Woods again . It ’ s golf season , anyways , what with the PAL Interclub , now on its 70th year , blasting off Feb . 22 in presidential turf that is Davao City .
Woods , recovering from a fourth back surgery , has been in the news lately , seen and heard preparing for the Masters set in April .
The Masters , of course , is the first of four majors scheduled each year . Woods has won it four times after his breakthrough win in 1997 as a rookie , doing it in recordsetting fashion .
So overpowering was Woods then that Jack Nicklaus , considered the greatest ever to play golf , said : “ So young and so good already . I think you have just seen the man who will eclipse my records .”
Woods was barely 20 years old then when he won the Masters in his first majors appearance as a pro .
He had turned pro the year before , the reason he skipped playing the 1996 World Team Golf Amateur Championship held in Manila after signing up with Nike for $ 30 million .
That was the year ’ s top sports story that also saw Woods quit his scholarship at the famed Stanford University
Top Rank chief Bob Arum has blasted a report by a British newspaper that claimed a deal has been reached for Manny Pacquiao to fight Amir Khan .
Speaking to the Courier Mail , Arum said there is no finality yet on both Pacquiao ’ s next opponent and the fight venue .
“ The Amir Khan story has come out of nowhere ,” Arum recently told the Courier Mail .
The veteran promoter was referring to a story by The Sun about the camps of Pacquiao and Khan reaching a verbal agreement for a bout .
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Philippine Airlines Golf & Tiger Woods
in San Francisco .
A golf prodigy , Woods would immediately proceed to dominate the game , adding to the Masters in quick succession his victories in the other majors : the June US Open , July British Open and August / September PGA .
Woods is just one of only a handful who had won all four majors for a rare Grand Slam . He also ranks second in the most number of majors won at 14 , which is four behind Jack Nicklaus ’ all-time high of 18 .
But it happens that all joy rides will come to an end .
Woods has not won a major since 2008 . At 40 , he is considered young , and still very much capable of winning more .
Nicklaus won his 18th and last major when he was 46 years old , doing it in the 1986 Masters .
A while back , Woods said he was looking to old friend Roger Federer , 35 , for some inspiration .
“ What Rog has done is he ’ s been dominant for so long ,” Woods said after seeing Federer beat Rafael Nadal to win his 18th tennis major in Australia last month . “ No one wins tennis slams at his age .”
Like Woods , Federer is also fresh from a knee surgery that sidelined him for six months .
I just can ’ t wait to see Woods in Masters action in April .
PAL Media Golf a major side event
FEBRUARY has always been associated with the Philippine Airlines Interclub Golf Championship . This is a yearly event now on its 70th year . Now an institution by itself , the PAL Interclub has become the country ’ s unofficial national team golf championship .
I will be covering it in Davao from Feb . 22 to March 2 .
On the side , I will play also in the PAL Media Golf Championship — thanks to Jimmy J . Bautista , the gentle PAL president , who does not get fed up inviting me and several of my fellow journalists based in Manila to be a part of both the PAL Interclub and the PAL Media gof event . The PAL Media Golf , now on its 40th year almost , is a major side event of the PAL Interclub .
A regular participant in the PAL Media golf is ReyFort Fortaleza , that highly-respected publisher of PhilNews in Vancouver . Looking forward to seeing you again , Rey !
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May I beg for your indulgence , fellers , as you know pretty well that golf has been my game since 1985 , the year the Maddogan Golf Club was founded ( March 4 ).
Ah , our doggone Club .
We only have two officers : President and secretary-treasurer .
Humbly , I was the Club ’ s founding president , with Jake P . Ayson as the permanent secretary-treasurer .
Only the president is to be replaced , but only upon his say-so . Meaning , like Pareng Jake , our President can also serve for life . He has the exclusive power to name his successor .
say ?
OK , more history , you
Despite having only two officers , our Club has survived all these years and continues to roam the nation ’ s fairways 32 years after its birth .
If one member says no to any applicant , that ’ s it : Application denied . The member need not explain his no vote . Already , many prominent guys had been black-balled .
That ’ s the reason our Club has only about 14 or so members .
Deceased members include Danny Floro , the most well-loved team manager
No deal on Pacquiao vs Khan , says Arum
“ Just official contracts now needing to be signed ,” the report added .
But Arum countered that there is no truth to the article .
“ It is total and complete [ expletive ],” he said .
The Top Rank boss went on to say that Pacquiao is currently looking at offers to fight in Dubai
“ What ’ s happening is that Manny is talking to these people in Dubai who have offered him an insane amount of money ,’’ Arum continued .
“ Whether ( the offer ) is real or not real — he is determined to explore it to see if it has any validity . That ’ s all I can say ,” the promoter said .
KhFor his part , Pacquiao ’ s adviser Michael Koncz echoed Arum ’ s statements and said that nothing is final yet .
“ All I ’ m going to do is fuel speculation in the media and I don ’ t want to do that . I don ’ t work that way . Once we have confirmed 100 percent the venue and the arena and who the opponent is we ’ ll make an announcement ,” Koncz told Fox Sports Australia .
( Crispa ) in the Philippine Basketball Association ( PBA ), sports editor Larry Galvez , and Boy Togonon , the nationally acclaimed editorial cartoonist famously known to down 24 cups of coffee everyday .
Some of our esteemed members include Sen . Tito Sotto , Agriculture Secretary Manny Pinol , basketball legend and now PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez , and Benny Gopez , the former president of both the nation ’ s golf and volleyball bodies and first vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee .
Some of my fellow Maddogan members will also play in the PAL Media golf in Davao City Feb . 27-28 , a yearly thing we cherish since the Seventies .
On a personal note , I am happy to hear that Charlie “ The Rock Star ” Erojo , will be back to help shepherd the journalists covering the PAL Seniors Tournament ( 55- year-old and above ) Feb . 22 to Feb . 25 and the PAL Men ’ s Regular March 1-4 — both scheduled at historic Apo and nature-rich Palos Verdes .
Charlie will be in the company of PAL Interclub fixtures Pinky Balagtas and Jon Gesmundo , and PAL newbie Marla Manundo ( not Salcedo as earlier reported here ). See you soon , guys !
“ Hopefully by midweek next week we ’ ll have a final on everything .”
an recently topped a Twitter poll ran by Pacquiao asking fans who should he fight next in the United Arab Emirates . ( D . Maragay , PS )