Junior golf enjoys boom
Oliver Gan basks in the limelight. He loves the attention and dresses the part well. He’s comfortable speaking on stage often without notes. He speaks from the heart, or so he says.
When he ran for a board seat in the Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines last year, Gan named his ticket Team Ogan, a tactic that did not sit well among his rivals.
Ogan is an abbreviation for Outstanding Golfers Achievement Nationwide.
His critics think otherwise.
Eight months since being installed as JGFP president, Gan has been delivering what he promised.
Under the guidance of JGFP chairman Tommy Manotoc, he organized a grassroots program in Zamboanga City in partnership with the Ambagan Group and held tournaments in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu and Bukidnon.
Gan, a former junior golfer, waived entry and membership fees for those who cannot afford them, sparking interest among children of caddies and other golf club workers.
Surrounded by a team of volunteers, Gan works tirelessly and is an astute problem solver.
Holding tournaments outside Luzon is not an easy task.
It’s just not about flying the team, it also involves bringing materials and JGFP tee markers to every destination.
The problem starts as soon as the team gets to the destination. Transportation is a challenge but Gan has figured it out with the help of friends and supporters. No problem came unresolved.
On their way to Del Monte Golf Club last April, the lead car on the two-vehicle convoy met an accident. A big trailer truck hit the left side of the car.
Artemio Murakami took the wheel of the second car with Gan and his daughter Nicole in tow and left the two assigned drivers to handle the situation.
In Cebu City, Gan found that one of the plastic containers holding the tee markers was destroyed in transit. He went to the mall to buy one.
Gan said he would have not made things possible without the support of his family, particularly his better half, Johanna, from the prominent Gaisano clan in Davao City.
Johanna is the complete opposite of her husband. She shuns the publicity, rarely goes up the stage and prefers working in the background.
Aside from administrative duties, Johanna stays behind in the clubhouse while Oliver is making the rounds on the course.
The couple has two daughters who are top-notch golfers — 12-year-old Nicole and six-year-old Stephanie. Somehow both parents have managed to divide their time between taking care of their daughters and running the organization.
They get plenty of help from JGFP directors and well-meaning friends like Murakami and former Philippine Basketball Association coach Ariel Vanguardia.
The pivot to Visayas and Mindanao is reaping dividends.
Junior golf activities came alive in the cities where JGFP set foot.
Many organizers got actively involved in the promotion of junior golf.
Three players from the South — Edison Tabalin, Ralph Rian Batican and Alethea Gaccion — have won overseas.
To address the perennial problem of equipment, the JGFP has launched a drive soliciting donations for used golf clubs that will be given to those in need.
When he ran for a board seat in the Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines last year, Gan named his ticket Team Ogan, a tactic that did not sit well among his rivals.
The Lourdes Tuason de Arroyo Foundation run by the Arroyo family has pledged its full support to the JGFP’s various programs.
Gaccion and fellow Cagayan de Oro bet Kiara Montebon became the first scholars of the LTA Foundation.
Former Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo made the announcement during the award ceremonies of the JGFP Interclub at the Eagle Ridge Golf Club last month.
A few days later, Gaccion and Montebon each received an initial fund of P100,000 they can use to fund their trips to the IMG Junior World Championships in San Diego, California in July.
The JGFP sent a delegation to the Ciputra Golfpreneur Junior World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia this week.
Next week, JGFP members troop to Baguio City for the Northern Luzon event which adopts a unique two-player format featuring the juniors paired with their relatives.
One thousand, six hundred and 10 kilometers south of Baguio, a World Amateur Golf Ranking event is also set on the same week at the Pueblo de Oro Golf and Country Club in Cagayan de Oro City.
Before the end of his three-year tenure, Gan hopes that junior golfers would be given more access to golf courses and that entry fees are no longer needed to join tournaments.
He is going full-steam ahead — damn the torpedoes.