25th Founders Cup Invitational

1. WELCOME MESSAGE

For 25 years, The Orchard Golf & Country Club has had the pleasure to stage the Founders Cup, one of the country’s biggest premier member-guest golf tournaments. This year’s celebration is a very special milestone for all of us – a silver year anniversary of unparalleled commitment of providing members and guests with an exceptional experience and at the same time pay homage to our Founders.

This year marks a bigger and better celebration with a more exciting roster of golf and Grand Raffle prizes. For the first time, the golf raffle will include a brand-new car on top of the P1.5 million worth of other items, while the Grand Raffle will showcase prizes worth P9 Million pesos, featuring three (3) brand-new luxury cars and other raffle items.

Finally, The Management is happy to share that last August 02, 2023, we awarded the first four (4) beneficiaries of the Conrado Benitez II Educational Assistance Program, P50,000.00 each or a total of P200,000.00 from the previous year’s Grand Raffle proceeds, to help support their tertiary education. This year and the years to come, we commit to continuing this noble advocacy with your unwavering support as we hope to help deserving student beneficiaries get through college.

Thank you for your patronage and support in all our endeavors through the years. Together, let us Unite. Compete. Celebrate. WELCOME to – the 25th Orchard Founders Cup!

Sincerely,

Tomas Julio Benitez
President & CEO

2. ABOUT THE GOLF COURSES

The Orchard Golf & Country Club is home to a pair of 18-hole championship golf courses designed by two golfing legends,
Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

The Palmer Course is a traditional parkland layout that curves its way through groves of stately mango trees and is protected
by deep lakes and huge bunkers. It was the venue for the 1995 Johnnie Walker Golf Classic, Asia’s most prestigious golf tournament, where the likes of Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, Nick Price, Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, and many others wowed the gallery with their shot-making skills.

The Player Course, on the other hand, is a links-type course layout with its rolling fairways, deep bunkers and strong winds reminiscent of Scottish courses. It was the venue for the 1997 Qualifying School for the Asian PGA.

The Palmer Course has TifEagle on its greens while the Player Course has Sea Isle 2000 Paspalum.

3. 2022-2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Vicente R. Santos
Chairman

Tomas Julio A. Benitez
President & CEO

Exequiel D. Robles
Corporate Secretary

Mariza Santos-Tan
Asst. Corporate Secretary

Henry Cua-Loping
Treasurer

Jose P. Crisostomo, Jr.
Jose S. Gonzales
Independent Directors

SPORTS AND GAMES COMMITTEE

Tomas Julio A. Benitez
Chairman

Jose S. Gonzales
Vice Chairman

Emmanuel Q. Canivel
Jose Ernilo P. Famy
Francis C. Montallana
Members

4. ELIGIBILITY

Open to all members, spouses, dependents, and their invited guests in good standing. All participants must be amateurs.

5. FORMAT

36-hole Stableford scoring system with handicaps
Stableford points will count as follows:

SCORE	POINTS
Net Double Bogey
Net Bogey	1
Net Par	2
Net Birdie	3
Net Eagle	4
Net Double Eagle	5
Hole-in-One	6

Palmer Course – 18-hole Net Aggregate Stroke Play competition; combined points of partners count as the team’s score
Player Course – 18-hole Net Four-Ball Stroke Play competition; Better net score for the hole counts as the team’s score

6. HANDICAP

Participants must have established World Handicapping System (WHS) indices with at least twenty (20) games recorded between January 1, 2022 to September 27, 2023.
The participants’ lowest handicap index from May 1 to October 1, 2023 shall be used for handicap computation.
The Committee shall generate the participants’ WHS indices. However, it is the participants’ responsibility to confirm the accuracy of their posted handicap indices and request adjustment, if any, until November 15, 2023.
Participants without WHS indices shall be subject to appropriate handicap reduction at the discretion of the Sports and Games Committee.
The participants’ tournament handicap shall be based on the Palmer’s course and slope ratings.
The following maximum handicap shall apply:

MEMBER		GUEST
Men	Ladies	Men	Ladies
36	36	24	27

The Committee reserves the right to adjust or deny any participants’ handicap if it deems fit and necessary.

7. SIZE OF FIELD AND SCHEDULE

Maximum of 800 players or 400 teams.
Schedules and shotgun tee times are as follows:

SCHEDULE A	SCHEDULE B	SCHEDULE C	SCHEDULE D
Thursday, Nov. 23 @ 6:15 AM	Thursday, Nov. 23 @ 12:15 PM	Friday, Nov. 24 @ 6:15 AM	Friday, Nov. 24 @ 12:15 PM
& Saturday, Nov. 25 @ 12:15 PM	& Saturday, Nov. 25 @ 6:15 AM	& Sunday, Nov. 26 @ 12:15 PM	& Sunday, Nov. 26 @ 6:15 AM

The Committee’s decision on pairings and hole assignments shall be considered final.

8. STARTING TEES

MEN	MEN	LADIES
(below 55 years old by Nov. 23,2023)	(55 years old and above by Nov. 23, 2023)	(regardless of age)
Blue Tees	Silver Tees (Optional)	Red Tees

Men 55 years old and above may opt to play from the Silver Tees, provided that it is declared on/or before November 18, 2023.

9. LATE TO TEE

Participants who are late to tee:

Must mark “X” on the scorecard for the holes not played.
May join play starting on the next tee.

10. CLASSIFICATION

Group A – Top 25% of the field with lowest team handicap
Group B – Next 25% of the field
Group C – Next 25 % of the field
Group D – Bottom 25% of the field

11. CONFIRMATION OF ENTRIES

Registration entries shall only be considered confirmed after the settlement of the tournament fee, and submission of the completed entry form.
Priority should be given to primary members and spouses.
A priority waiting list shall be made available for those primary members or spouses who missed registering a slot. Allotment of re-opened slots shall be on a first-come, first-served basis.
A secondary waiting list shall be made available for enrolled junior dependents by October 1 and slots shall be allotted by November 1, if available.
Another waiting list shall be made available for other dependents by October 1 and slots shall only be given when there are no more waitlisted on the priority and secondary lists by November 7, 2023.

12. PRACTICE ROUNDS

Invited guests have two (2) complimentary practice rounds subject to the following guidelines:
1. Weekday – one round per course and must be accompanied by a member.
2. Weekend or Holiday – one round on either course, provided that the 2-weekday practice rounds are not yet used. If one weekday round is already used, the other weekend practice round will be subject to a 50% green fee. In both cases, invited guests must be accompanied by a member.
May only be availed after entry is confirmed.
Non-transferable.

13. CHANGE OF PARTNER

Allowed not later than November 5, 2023.
New guest-partner must meet the handicap requirements. Otherwise, he shall play with zero (0) handicap.

14. CANCELLATION POLICY

100% entry fee refund shall apply for cancellations made on/or before 5 PM of Sunday, November 5, 2023.
50% penalty shall apply for cancellations made after 5:00 PM of November 5, 2023. The Club shall refund the remaining 50% of the entry fee.
Members who will cancel shall be charged the equivalent green fees in case the invited guest has availed of the practice rounds.
Teams shall no longer be entitled for refund once tournament giveaways are claimed regardless of the timing of cancellation.

15. PACE OF PLAY

“Gimme” Putt – Any ball lying within or above the line of the 22-inch gimme circle shall be considered holed on the player’s next stroke. The player must pick up his ball and add one stroke to his last stroke’s score.
A participant must pick up his ball if his next stroke is for a net double bogey or zero points.
Each round must be completed within 4 hours and 30 minutes, or at an average of 15 minutes per hole.
Marshals and rulesmen are empowered to penalize a participant for slow play under the guidelines set by the Committee as follows:
1. 1st offense – warning; participant placed on the clock
2. 2nd offense – 2-point team penalty
3. 3rd offense – disqualification for the day
Participant must play a provisional ball if the original ball may be lost or out of bounds, but the participant shall inform marker or fellow competitor of his intent.

16. SCORECARDS

Each team shall serve as the marker of the opposing team in the flight.
The markers shall observe the following for each hole:
1. Record only the gross scores; or
2. Write an “X” mark in case of pick-up or hole not played by the opposing team
Only official scorecards shall be accepted and must be:
1. Signed by at least one member of the opposing team.
2. Submitted within 15 minutes after completing the round.
Participants must be responsible in checking their hole by hole scores.
Scorecards not submitted on time shall be voided, and the
team shall be disqualified for the day.

17. AWARDS

Each member of the team gets a trophy:

Overall Champion – team with the highest 36-hole net Stableford points
Low Gross Champion – team with the highest 36-hole gross Stableford points
Group Champion – team with the highest net Stableford points in each group
Group Runner-up – team with the next highest net Stableford.

Note: A team may only win one (1) award. Should a team win both Overall and Low Gross champions, the team will be awarded as the LOW GROSS CHAMPION.

18. HOLE-IN-ONE

Prizes will be up for grabs on all par 3 holes.
As a general rule, prizes for the hole-in-one shall be equally divided among the winners.
All hole-in-one prizes will be subject to winning tax.
Exclusive to the 25th Founders Cup, an additional P250K cash from the Club will be given away on top of the prizes on each hole.

19. TIES

Ties shall be settled as follows:
1. Most points at the Player Course;
2. Most points at the Player Course’s last 9-holes totals (10- 18); then
3. Most points at the Player Course’s last 6-holes, (13-18); then
4. Most points at the Player Course’s last 3-holes, (16-18); and finally
5. Count back on most points from the 18th hole.
Points based on net scores shall be used to break ties for the Overall Champion and group categories. Points based on gross scores shall be used to break ties for Low Gross awards.

20. MULLIGAN

Mandatory for all participants
P600.00 for two mulligans per 18-hole round
Not valid for hole-in-one prize
May be used anywhere except on the putting green

21. CADDIE FEE

Minimum P700.00 per round and must be settled immediately after each round.

22. AWARDS NIGHT

Awards dinner shall be held at the Grand Ballroom.
Doors shall open at exactly 6:00 PM
Awards night attendance will be exclusive to all participants. There will be no accompanying spouse per player to ensure an intimate and exclusive awards night experience and priority to all participants.
Seats will be raffled off to all the participants.

23. DRESS CODE

Proper dress code shall be strictly observed. Participants wearing shorts, collarless shirts, any open-toed footwear (for men) and slippers of any kind shall be denied entry to the cocktails and awards dinner venues.
It is the member’s responsibility to ensure that his invited guest adheres to the dress code to avoid any inconvenience on the day of the event.

24. RULES OF PLAY

Play shall be governed by the latest Rules of Golf as published by R&A Rules Limited and the Club’s Local Rules. Concerns shall be settled by the Sports and Games Committee, whose decision shall be final.

OVER-ALL LOW NET CHAMPION

1997
Joselito Salud
Janet Infante

1998
Iraida Matro
Menchu Uyengco

1999
Abelardo Yabut
Carlos Santos Jr.

2000
Antonio Lim
Jose Chua

2001
Nestor Sanares
Omar Dunca

2002
Corazon Sunga
Norberto Tolentino

2003
Jerry Tanchuan
Florentino Zapanta Jr.

2004
Jimmy Cu
Joel Agbanlog

2005
Arthur Tugade
Rolly Enriquez

2006
Gumersindo Leuterio
Emeterio Dikitanan

2007
Chito Servida
Roberto Rosales

2008
Severino Oliva
Antonio Tan Jr.

2009
Wolfgang Popp
Dennis Reyes

2010
Jojo Ferrer
Alejandro Palines Jr.

2011
Alexander Ong
Raul Ilagan

2012
Oscar Patricio
Bobby Chico

2013
Aaron Chua
Barton Chua

2014
Jerry Tanchuan
Nilo Ocampo

2015
Dondi Primicias
Levi San
Buenaventura

2016
Rommel Hermoso
Rodolfo Co

2017
Pushkar Misra
Raymond Lacdao

2018
Manuel Santos
Carlo Gahisan

2019
Jonathan Ebol
Jose Tan

2022
Bryan Patrick Tan
Jose Tan

OVER-ALL LOW GROSS CHAMPION

1997
Wilo Layug
Menchu Uyengco

1999
Vicente Tuason
Angelo Que

2000
Conrad Benitez II
Francis Gaston

2001
Mariano Marcos
Hector Miole

2002
Dan Salvador III
Bob Horan

2003
Dan Salvador III
Bob Horan

2004
Paul Salvador
Raymund Sangil

2005
King Stehmeier
Severino Roxas-Chua

2006
Wolen Juan Superal
Marcel Puyat

2007
Wolen Juan Superal
John Kier Abdon

2008
King Stehmeier
John Papa

2009
King Stehmeier
John Papa

2010
Paul Salvador
Dan Salvador III

2011
Jay Art Tugade
Monchu Nolasco

2012
Jikjik Abdon
Steve Yoon

2013
Raymund Sangil
Marty Ilagan

2014
Raymund Sangil
Marty Ilagan

2015
Ace Stehmeier
Jorge Gallent

2016
Marvin Caparros
Jorge Gallent

2017
Marvin Caparros
Jorge Gallent

2018
Rodel Mangulabnan
Marty Ilagan

2019
Zach Castro
Rianne Michaela
Malixi

2022
Jaye Escuadro
Eric Gozo