What was supposed to be a tight contest between rival schools turned to be a lopsided affair as Ateneo defeated La Salle, 66-33, to win the Ateneo-La Salle Golf Classic Cup recently at the Canlubang Golf and Country Club in Laguna.

Ateneo shut out La Salle in the seniors’ and Open Categories, while dominated the Championship and Ladies divisions.

Mari Hechanova of Ateneo scored a gross 71 to win top honors in the championship division, while Freddie Salinda and Nelson Leung ruled the Open and senior’s divisions, respectively.

Joining them in the winner’s circle are fellow Ateneans Marilen Yaptangco in the ladies’ category, as well as Vicente Mendoza in class C and David Huang in class D.

La Salle ’s Sammy Sy and Ed Datuin won in class A and B, respectively.

This year’s tournament, the 20th time since 1984 the two schools clashed at the golf course, was actually a rubber match to decide the winner of the best-of-three series presented by PLDT and Smart Communications.

La Salle won in 2005, but Ateneo bounced back last year. With the win, the Katipunan-based school will keep the Classic Cup permanently.

There was an overwhelming response from the alumni and students of both schools with 349 participants, 191 played for Ateneo and 158 for La Salle .