NANPEI, MANIBUSAN CRUISE TO AMATEUR GOLF TITLES

By Patrick Lujan

For the first time in four years, there are new Guam Amateur Golf Champions.

Markus Nanpei took a nine-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round and was never threatened, winning by 13 strokes with a three-day total of (72-73-74=219). Meanwhile, Mina Manibusan led the tournament from start to finish to take the women’s title by 10 strokes after rounds of (76-86-78=240).

The titles were left vacant as Ivan Sablan and Tyanna Jacot (both three-time reigning champions) were unable to return home due to college obligations.

More importantly for the new winners was that they both qualified for the prestigious World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). The men’s qualifier is an average of 78, while the women qualify with an 80 avg. Both winners beat those marks and are now on the WAGR.

“The last few years, I’ve been chasing it, but I’ve missed it by a stroke,” Manibusan said about getting on the list. “The WAGR, it’s definitely important to qualify for that, especially before entering college, I needed that. It feels good.”

NANPEI QUIETLY SECURES MEN’S TITLE

Strolling into the final round with a 1-over after the first two rounds and a nine-stroke lead, only a total meltdown would doom Nanpei. His steady play, however, continued into Sunday and the field had no chance of catching up.

“I didn’t make too many mistakes,” the 21-year-old said. “I only lost one ball, and that was today, so I kept the ball in play, which is always going to be good. I did everything pretty well, and that’s a good outcome from that.”

Nanpei made huge strides in just one year. Always just inside the top 10 since entering the Championships, Nanpei made a jump from last year’s 6th place finish to 1st and a 19-stroke improvement from 238 last summer to 219 this week.

In the final round, Nanpei made the turn at 1-under (35), but a double bogey on 14 and a bogey on 16 kept him above par in the end.

“I’ve played this over five or six times, so it’s always nice to win, especially now that I’m in college and coming back home.”

“College golf is very hard and whenever you play well, it definitely builds a lot of confidence. Coming into this tournament, I felt like I was playing pretty well, so that helped a lot.”

Nanpei will use the summer to continue to hone his skills before heading back to Weber State in Utah for another season of collegiate golf.

Coming in second place for the second year in a row was Louie Sunga. Now 55 and still keeping up with the young guns, Sunga is proving that he still belongs.

“You combine two of these guys’ ages (as he pointed to Markus and Stussy Shiroma) and I’m still older than them,” Sunga said.

He was once them. When he was their age, he was taking on the likes of Lon Lindsey, Mel Davis, Bill Reyes and the Pablo brothers. Now, he’s taking on, and still holding his own, a whole new generation.

MANIBUSAN MAKES HER MARK

Now at 17-years-old and a more mature game coming along, Manibusan comfortably placed her name in the records books despite an 86 on Saturday. She rebounded nicely in Sunday’s final round with a 78.

“It feels good. I don’t think I ever won the one in the summer, so this is my first time,” Manibusan said. “It’s a good confident booster before I go out to San Diego and a bunch of other states for tournaments.”

With no serious threat behind her, Manibusan felt at ease right out of the gates Sunday morning simply by putting the ball in play on the first hole.

“The first hole, I didn’t go OB (out of bounds) because yesterday I went OB. I felt at ease that I didn’t go down the first hole. I missed a lot of birdie putts today so I ended getting a lot of pars. It doesn’t matter now, because I ended up qualifying,” said a smiling Manibusan.

Coming in 2nd place was the ageless Tessie Blair, Guam’s top ladies golfer back in the 1980s and 1990s. “Somewhere in her late 70’s” as she puts her age, Blair actually had the best score over the weekend, shooting rounds of 81 and 80.

BIRTHDAY BOY TAKES SENIOR DIVISION

Daryl Poe wasn’t about to leave CCP on his 59th birthday without a championship. The long-time fixture in Guam’s golf scene, Poe shot three solid rounds in the 70s to win by 13 strokes over Claro Pineda.

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY: