ALTA VISTA of Cebu finished in the top three of all three divisions and held on to a slim five-point lead over Rancho Palos Verdes of Davao after the first of three rounds capping the Sta. Lucia Golf Tour 2005 at the brand new Summit Point Golf and Country Club in Lipa, Batangas.
The Cebuanos placed second in Group I and third in both Groups II and III for 32 points in the Summit Point round, bringing to 108 its total for the series that was five points better than the 103 of defending overall champion Rancho Palos Verdes.
Palos Verdes wound up second in Group II, third in Group and fourth in Group III to bolster its bid to keep the Sta. Lucia Cup, symbol of overall supremacy in the nationwide series featuring eight clubs flying the banner of real estate giant Sta. Lucia Realty.
It was Eagle Ridge which made the big move by topping Group I and Group II to increase its total to 93 points in the Tour also backed by Samsung, Omega, Titleist-Footjoy as hole-in-one sponsors and Philippine Airlines as official airline. Partner hotels for the new season are Marco Polo (Davao), Marriot (Cebu) and The Bellevue (Manila) with Unirock/Readycon and Pisanti as hole-sponsors.
The Eagle Ridge bets, the three-time champions here, can make it a three-way race with a strong performance in the second round of the final stage they are hosting and the third and final stage at Orchard played yesterday.
The cumulative rounds at Summit Point, Eagle Ridge and Orchard make up the 54-hole final leg.
Leading the individual standings were Carl Almario of Alta Vista with 313 in Class A, Byeong Gwan Yoon of Summit Point with 274 in Class B, Jessie Tan of Palos Verdes with 254 in Class C, Carmelo de Jesus of Royale Tagaytay with 209 in Class D.
Royale Tagaytay topped Group II at Summit Point to stay in fourth overall at 71 points. Summit Point was at 48, Orchard 46, Caliraya Springs 20 and Lakewood 18.
