By Dr. Vince Gomez

About two years ago, I posted a two-page spread of stretching exercises for golf in Swing magazine (now Golf Digest Philippines) which was very well received. Until now, many still ask me if I have copies of these exercises so that they can include them in their daily exercise regimen to stretch out their tight, tight bodies to help their golf game. Why did they like it? I have many theories, but basically most of the readers (and my patients) said that the exercises were easy to do, they could be done in the golf course, in the cart, in the snack house, locker room, living room, bedroom, or even at work (I want THAT job!). The entire set can be done in 10 to 15 minutes and most of the body is stretched out completely. If done twice a day, even better.

The exercises are divided by area and they tell you what part gets stretched. Pull or stretch your body into the position slowly and not quickly or with a bouncing motion. Hold each position for about five seconds taking a deep breath in and out. Then move back and repeat about ten times. The whole idea is that after you stretch out, you should feel that your muscles are pulled out to length and all the tightness is gone.

What is important is that you should stretch before you play. It is best to spend 10 minutes stretching before and after you play. Stretching before you play removes all the muscle knots and starts blood circulating into quiet rested muscles. Stretching after you play clears out lactic acid, which are the waste products of exercise which cause muscles to ache or be sore the next day.

Step-by-step demos of these exercises are found in the October-November issue of Golf Digest Philippines

The Philippines settled for second place Friday in the Putra Cup despite closing with a tournament-best 206, behind a struggling Thailand which still kept its poise despite its seven-over par 217 in the last round with the top 860 aggregate.

The Filipinos ended with a 862 total.

Mark Fernando bogeyed two of the last three holes, closing with a two-under-par 68, while Jay Bayron bogeyed in the last hole, ending with a 69. Ferdie Aunzo, meanwhile, matched Bayron’s 69.

After dominating the first three rounds, the Thais struggled in the last, producing a 217, behind Thanyakorn Krongpha’s 72, Varut Chomchalam’s 72, and Kiradech Aphibarnat’s 73.

They still annexed their 12th Putra Cup despite the last round debacle, having the best aggregate.

Thailand pads lead; RP bets recover

By Roy Luarca

The Philippines rebounded from last to joint third with a 218 but fell farther behind Thailand, which stretched its lead to six shots over Singapore after a 215 halfway through the Putra Cup at The Country Club course in Laguna Wednesday.

Portly Kiradech Aphibarnrat, whose 73 failed to count for Thailand’s first round output of 212, took charge for the Thais this time, coming home with two birdies in the last five holes to turn in the tournament-best score of two-under 68.

With Varan Israbhakdi and first round top scorer Varut Chomchalam putting in 71 and 76, respectively, the Thais, priming up for the SEA Games at their turf next month, pooled a 215 for a 36-hole aggregate of 427.

That was six strokes ahead of Singapore, which assembled a 216 as top player Quincy Quek matched par 70 and Zhiqun Lam and Dengshan Kok carded a pair of 73s for a 433.

The RP bets, who had a disappointing 222 in the opener at home course, recovered a bit with a 218 which should’ve been a 217 if not for Jhonnel Ababa’s error in his scorecard.

Ababa birdied the par-4 13th but put in a 4 in his scorecard instead of a 3, which his scorer had earlier entered. He wound up with a 74 instead of a 73, which counted for the team.

Mark Fernando fired two birdies in the first seven holes in a fine start but dropped two strokes on No. 9 before a bogey-mishap on No. 10 gave him a one-over 71 for RP’s best score after two rounds of play in the

Southeast Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship conducted by the National Golf Association of the Phils.

Jay Bayron continued to struggle with a 73 marred by a double-bogey and three bogeys against two birdies while Ferdie Aunzo dropped five strokes in a three-hole stretch from No. 14, including a triple-bogey seven on the 15th, and didn’t count with a five-over 75.

Malaysia, behind Hazig Hamizan’s 72 and the two 73s by Edmund Au and Akhmal Tarmizee, matched RP’s output for the second straight day as they moved up to joint third at 440 but fell 13 shots adrift.

Aphibarnrat also took the lead in the individual competition with a 141, one shot ahead of Israbhakdi while Fernando jumped from 12th to joint fifth with a 145 in a tie with Chomchalam, one stroke behind the fourth-running Singaporean pair of Quek and Lam.
Indonesia shot a second straight 221 and slid to fifth with a 442 while Hong Kong, which made an impressive 217 in the first round of the event sponsored by Philippine Airlines, Pagcor, Dept. of Tourism, Hanjin Heavy Industries and the Philippine Sports Commission, limped home with a 231 and dropped to last in the lean six-team field with a 448.

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