Ball Is Round

We are in the mid-season as new champions are created and new faces emerge. Last year and the years before that we always see the same people making the Top 12, year in year out. Old faces like Joe Barreno, Willy Libid, George Javier, Nelson Perez, Noel Blumenau, etc. have lorded it over the past seasons.

Not anymore. Fresh upstarts such as Benno Tan, Danny Velasquez, Eric Ciar, Jerry Pabalan, Edgar Lerias, Fe Echavez, Ronnie Racuya and the not-so-fresh Elmer Carido and Fran Pineda are a welcome treat. With the exception of Javier and Perez, these golfers are wandering into new territories and have stepped up their games to a new level.

That means old farts like myself have to work doubly hard to keep up with the trend. And no excuses for me either like the overused I-only-play-during-outings speeches. That just doesn't cut it in any sport.

One more round before the highly anticipated Match Play Championships at Cherry Creek and methinks people are in a mad scramble to get into the Magic 32. Luckily for me, I am in 22nd spot - far from getting ripped away from the match play. I feel for the 32nd (Jason Gonzales) and 33rd spot (Rey Nepomuceno) where a mere 1/3 of a point separates them. Match Play defending champion Libid's run up at the 2nd round of the FILAM Master's catapulted him to 29th spot from 46th. So anything is still possible especially for those in the 34th to 42nd spot.

However, my good friend and last year's quarter-finalist, Jojo Tan, needs to pull out a miracle at High Bridge Hills to qualify. He is in 48th place and still hoping for that A game to put him back in contention. Ian Loleng, my partner in crime who is in India on a business trip and will miss 2 outings, is another proof positive that work and golf don't bode well with each other. He might as well say goodbye to his current 13th spot as his absense will push him further out in the seedings. If current trend continues, he may find himself going up against the likes of Javier or Racuya in the first round.

But as the old Filipino saying goes, "The ball is round" which really doesn't mean anything to me.