Caddie’s son Serdeña rules 2nd Fil-Am jungolf

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – David Charles Serdeña reigned supreme in the 2nd Fil-Am Invitational Junior Championship with 104 points, outpacing his closest rivals, Seong Min An and Zhan Pocholo Medina, in the Fil-A category.

Serdeña, the son of a female caddie from Taguig, followed his impressive 53 points on the first day at Camp John Hay with a solid 51 at Baguio Country Club.

Min An, based in Baguio, secured second place with 95 points, while Medina finished with 88 points, using the Molave scoring system.

Serdeña was only six years old when his mother, a caddie for 26 years, handed him a golf club.

Anna Maria Serdeña, 47, is a single mother and David Charles is her youngest of five children.

One of her daughters took a liking for golf but easily lost interest.

David Charles seemed to be a natural and Anna Maria always brought him along to the Philippine Navy Golf Course in Taguig where she is caddying.

She gave him golf clubs given to her, and soon, he was winning golf tournaments in the six- to seven-year-old age groups.

“He was always in the top three,” she said in Filipino.

“And then he stopped and resumed when he was already 13,” she said. “It’s like he never left.”

Now, the 15-year-old Serdeña is one of the country’s brightest hopes in golf. 

Unlike his colleagues, Serdeña would ride a tricycle or jeep to join the tournaments.

Eventually, former golfing champ Carito Villaroman took a liking of the young Serdena and became his coach.

Serdeña, after a few weeks under Villaroman, won the Boys Junior Division of the National Golf Association of the Philippines-Beverly Place Open in Mexico, Pampanga.

 In joining the 2nd Fil-Am Invitational Junior Golf Tournament, he and Anna Maria rode the bus.

And straight from the bus, Serdeña was the only one among the jungolfers to score more than 100 points in the Molave scoring system in the par 61 Baguio Country Club golf course and par 69 John Hay golf course, scoring 104 points to win the tournament.

At the end of the month, the mother and son. together with Villaroman, will be flying to California to join the IMG World Academy Junior World Golf Championship and the FCG Junior World Golf Series and the Callaway Junior Tournament Series.

Hopefully, he won’t be riding a tricycle to attend these tournaments. 

Young talents

Nearly a hundred young golfers, half from Northern Luzon, participated in the tournament, which the Fil-Am Golf Foundation envisions as a way to develop young talent.

Jeon “Eric” Gunwoo led the Fil-B category with 94 points, followed by Aenzo Andrei Sulaik with 85, and Felix Erano Saludar with 78 points.

Michael Joaquin Orbita stood out in the 12-man Fil-C category with 81 points. Hoonmin Park edged Ezekiel Opinion, 55-53, to secure second place.

In the Fil-D category, Jose Luis Espinosa led with 85 points, followed by Isonn Marco Angheng with 60 points and Phil Carson Galvez with 51.

In the Fil-E category, Cole Parker Galvez survived a second-day surge by Songjin Cho to win by six points, 58 to Cho’s 52. Leonardo Lacbo finished third with 15 points.

In the girls’ division, Baguio native Annika Molintas dominated Am-A with 17 points on the second day, adding to her first-day score of 27 for a total of 44. Esther Lee finished second with 38 points, and Anet Vynne Aqui secured third with 29 points.

Seungbin Cho scored 43 points on the second day to surpass first-day leader Zyrah De Leon, finishing with a total score of 74 against De Leon’s 70 points. Zyriel Mharisse Datuin came in third with 40 points.

Only two players participated in the Am-C category, with Megan Natasha Angheng winning over Doyeon Ko, 29-7.

In the Am-D category, Maurysse Abalos scored 46 points in the second round to win the group with a total of 81 points. Penelope Kate Sy finished second with 53 points, followed by Zoey Pineapple Laranang with 46 points.

Ma. Athlea Mavis Espedido dominated the Am-E division with 63 points, leading over Amiya Emerie Ryanne Tablac, who placed second with 18 points, and Seonyul Im, who finished third with 15 points. – Rappler.com