2018 WUC Golf Preparations Countdown

LUBAO – Preparations begin in earnest as FISU gave its stamp of approval to the Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club in Lubao, Pampanga as the host site of the 2018 FISU World University Golf Championship to be organized by the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP) from 16 to 19 May next year.

A meeting between FISU the Executive Members of the 17^th WUGC Organizing Committee took place onsite at the Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club, following a an ocular inspection of the newly-constructed 18-hole golf course situated in Barangay Prado Siongco. The FISU WUC Director Paulo FERREIRA and FISU Golf Technical Director Dominic WALL met with Emmanuel Edward CO, WUGC OC Chair Marius ASERON, FESSAP President David ONG, Lubao city Mayor Ms Maylene CAYABYAB, the WUGC Godfather Rodolfo (Bong) PINEDA and Pampanga Governor Lilia PINEDA, amongst many others.

The world-class 18-hole golf course located north of Metro Manila drew the highest praise from the FISU officials who envision a very high level event next year: “I am quite impressed by this beautifully-designed golf course,” said the Australian-born Wall, who now resides in Singapore. “Expectations are high that the prominent university golfers from around the world will take part in this world competition to be showcased by the host country and FESSAP.”

According to David Ong, the Pradera Golf Course, which is less than a year old, has metamorphosed into a prime destination for Filipino golfers from North and Central Luzon and the biennial World University Golf Championship is one avenue for the world’s best golfers to pit their skills as well as explore one of the country’s scenic tourist spots. “This international event will not only promote golf as a sport for the younger generation of Filipino athletes but also boost tourism in our country.”

Executive Members of the 17th WUGC Organizing Committee from left to right: Emmanuel Edward Co, WUGC OC Chair Marius Aseron, FESSAP president David Ong, Mayor Maylene Cayabyab, FISU’s Paulo Ferreira, WUGC Godfather’s Rodolfo

Members of the FESSAP marketing team have been working at full force to pull off the most ambitious project by the organization, which is the solely university sports federation in the Philippines that has been recognized since 2009 as a regular member of the FISU. The local marketing group is a joint partnership between FESSAP’s WUGC Organizing Committee and Pradera Verde Marketing Group.

The 2018 FISU World University Golf Championship to be hosted by the Philippines and FESSAP comes after the successful staging of the competition in Brive-la-Gaillard, from 23-26 June in 2016. Nearly 80 male and female student golfers took part in the tournament.

The top three finishers in the women’s division all came from the Czech Republic. Karolina Vlckova was the runaway gold medal winner with a nine-point advantage. Her compatriots Marie Lunackova and Koterina Vlasinova settled for the silver and bronze, respectively. In the men’s division, Robin Dawson of the Republic of Ireland topped the field with a two-point edge over China’s Xuewem Luo, the silver medalist.  Chinese-Taipei’s Yu-chen Yeh romped away with the bronze.

In the team competitions, host France ruled the men’s division with Republic of Ireland and Chinese-Taipei ranking second and third, respectively. The Czech Republic snared the top spot in the women’s division followed by Chinese-Taipei and United States.

(Source: WUC Department and WUGC OC)