2019: That’s all she wrote folks. They say success is not given; it is earned. Well, that’s the way Sierra Golf Club feels about our golf season. SGC proudly commends not one but every member for their continuous support to make another enjoyable and successful summer season.

One golfer was saying after a winning a round, “Winning feels less of interest to me but who you beat.”

You well know that you cannot be sulking in the corner for a long time, you must go out there and have your day in the sun.

Stay healthy and see you all next summer.

Bah……humbug. Finito. Terminado. Tapos. Kkeutmachin. Banhcho. All in the books. What can I say? Round 25 at Lakeridge golf course at a cool twenty degrees Celsius ended SGC’s season for twenty-eight players last Sunday. Amazing how summer just went by like that. SGC felt glad that membership was up this year and proud of new recruits not only they could play golf but SGC likened the idea of them blending nicely to the rest of the members because of their subtle but reasonably wholesome demeanor off and on the golf course. Not to forget that every SGC member wholeheartedly welcomed every one of them with open arms. Nice going folks.

I don’t know about you, but these members listed below equally demonstrated their willingness to sacrifice their own little time to get SGC organization reaching its goals and aspiration year in and year out. High admiration to all of you. Special mention to ex-member Ed Peñas from whom SGC got its handicapping program and support. Thank you all.

From L to R: Jojo Dizon, Bingoy Peña, Rey Plaza, Joey Cruz and Ed Peñas.

Yes, after twenty-four rounds with one cancellation SGC proudly presents and declares the final winners for this summer past time.

A sophomore member proved that nothing’s wrong with stealing most of the tournament accolades offered this year and winning the POY in a thrilling fashion and the closest win by far at any account. Steve Kim before last Sunday play was trailing Dave Nelson by huge eight POY strokes came from behind to grab the coveted trophy by a hair of a margin of one stroke with a super net scorecard of 67 at a difficult golf course. Mind you, Dave Nelson was leading the POY race for four straight weeks prior which was not an easy thing to accomplish. Going back to Steve, let’s see what else he won: Day prize because of that net 67; grabbed another major trophy as a runaway favorite of MIP (Most Improved Player); Super Series huge, huge first prize; Nassau front nine and total net. Not convinced yet? He’s got to be looking forward to next year, isn’t he?

SPOY (Senior Player of the Year): Seniors up. Seho Oh who gruntled that Lakeridge golf course was not one of his favorite golf courses hung on to the lead and shared the SPOY trophy with who else, Joey Cruz. Joey was bragging about winning a hat-trick for this award. Yes, Joey won it in the last three years. Playing golf consistently paid handsomely, did it not?

The ever turning back the hands of time Mar DeVeyra seized the Nassau back nine convincingly. Mar keeps on ticking and keeps on going.

Par 3 closest to the pin contest: Erland Ibañez who just missed by a chinny chin chin to get an ace a week ago, fired another super shot on the difficult wind and water infested seventeenth hole. Bert Cerrudo won the third hole.

From L to R: Erlan Ibañez, Bert Cerrudo

Month 5 winner: Manny Marquez who volunteered to back up Joey Cruz for calculating handicaps next year, remained unseated for the lead of best three net scores of the month with 203. Bingoy Peña’s 198 still holds the lowest recorded score that was set in 2017.

Was it a bird? No, it was an eagle. Jimmy Manguerra eagled the sixteenth par 5 hole. It was his fourth eagle of the summer. Jimmy also won the “Best Grossser” of the year award, his eleventh in the past thirteen years.

We got a delicious treat from a hard-hitting ball member, Jess Velarde for providing food that warmed our hearts and stomachs in a cool day after our round. Thank you.

Looking back: On June 29, 2019 SGC won the 2019 GTA Interleague Tournament Championship.

See you at the awards/banquet night.

Not much to talk about last Sunday except for the fun of playing the Blind Partner contest. Weather wise, there was a treat of looming rainfall as it was getting dark during SGC’s twenty-fourth round of golf of the season at Kingsforest Golf Club. Although the rain never materialized, it was on the cooler side of temps at only sixteen degrees Celsius for the thirty players that showed up and played while the skies cleared up. It was an enjoyable experience for new SGC members as the Blind Partner contest finally happened with a light dinner complete with drinks after the round. To win this contest, a partnership by two players selected through a random raffle must have the lowest total net score of the round. Top three win a prize. Here are the lucky pairs that won prizes:

RANK	NAMES	TOTAL NET SCORE
1	Fred Bataclan/Lina Mayo	142
2	Joey Cruz/Jess Velarde	143
3	Bert Cerrudo/Ron Wilson	145

From L to R: Fred Bataclan, Lina Mayo, Joey Cruz, Jess Velarde, Bert Cerrudo, Ron Wilson

Nassau corner contest: The seldom to play member Ross Bautista with a net score of 32 captured the front nine. Back nine and total net score was won by Bert Cerrudo with net score of 31 and 65 respectively.

From L to R: Ross Bautista, Bert Cerrudo

Closest to the pin contest: The ever happy go lucky guy Steve Kim fired a perfect shot at the fourteenth par 3 hole while Bert Cerrudo won the seventh.

From L to R: Steve Kim, Bert Cerrudo

For the major contest updates, please check the scores and standing on our web site. Good luck to all contenders.

There was a suggestion of moving the Grand Finals contest back to its original slot in the schedule – being in the last two rounds. Members were talking about that there was not much excitement at the end of our season as the Grand Finals was held a month earlier due to unpredictable fall weather conditions.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A real trooper SGC member is somewhat in a little bit of quandary because of health issues. In behalf of SGC and its members we would like to see you get better and to see you soon playing golf again. Ditto also for other members who are still recuperating and having other issues in life.