28th Founders Cup

1. WELCOME MESSAGE

On behalf of the Board of Directors and Management of The Orchard Golf & Country Club, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 28th Founders Cup Invitational.

For twenty-eight years, the Founders Cup has remained one of the Club’s most anticipated traditions, bringing together our members and guests through four days of competition, camaraderie, and fellowship. This year, we are pleased to welcome nearly 900 participants, making this one of the biggest editions of the tournament to date.

The event also comes at an exciting time for The Orchard, following our recent recognition by the Asian Golf Industry Federation for Outstanding Contributions in Asia, as well as the recognition of our courses by Golf Digest among the country’s top golf courses. These distinctions reflect our continuing commitment to providing an exceptional golfing experience for our members and guests.

We likewise extend our sincere appreciation to our sponsors, participants, and supporters of the Founders Cup and Grand Raffle. This year, participants and raffle ticket holders have the opportunity to win three brand-new cars, ₱1.75
million in total tax-free cash prizes, and 70 special prizes worth over ₱1.2 million. More importantly, a portion of the Grand Raffle proceeds will be dedicated to providing educational assistance to deserving children of our caddies.

Thank you for being part of this year’s Founders Cup. May you enjoy the competition, the courses, and the fellowship throughout the four-day tournament.

I wish everyone a memorable and successful 28th Founders Cup Invitational.

Sincerely,
Tomas Julio A. Benitez
President & CEO
The Orchard Golf & Country Club

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. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Vicente R. Santos
Chairman

Tomas Julio A. Benitez
President & CEO

Exequiel D. Robles
Corporate Secretary

Mariza S.Tan
Asst. Corporate Secretary

Henry Cua Loping
Treasurer

Jose S. Gonzales
Julio M. Manalo
Independent Directors

SPORTS AND GAMES COMMITTEE

Tomas Julio A. Benitez
Chairman

Jose S. Gonzales
Vice Chairman

Julio M. Manalo
David A. Holden
Louie E. Garcia
Teboy P. Javier
Jun S. Arceo
Mickey S. Tan
Ernilo P. Famy
Members

SPONSORSHIP COMMITTEE

Crispin Y. Carreon
Gerard P. Farin
Thomas Rodolfo R. Elazegui Jr.

Members

4. ELIGIBILITY

Open to all members, spouses, dependents 12 y.o and above, in good standing, and their invited guests. All participants must be amateurs.

5. FORMAT

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

SCORE	POINT
Net Double Bogey	0
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 an NGAP-WHS Handicap Index with at least 20 recorded games. Those with fewer games or without an established index shall be subject to handicap reduction at the Committee’s discretion.
Members and guests without an Orchard NGAP-WHS record must submit a Home Club Handicap Certificate by November 15, 2026, indicating their NGAP-WHS number, Handicap Index from January 1 to October 16, 2026. Guests without a certificate shall be given a zero (0) handicap.
The lowest Handicap Index recorded from January 1 to October 16, 2026 shall be used for the tournament handicap.
Tournament handicap shall be computed based on the Palmer Course slope and course rating.
The maximum handicap shall be as follows:

MEMBER		GUEST
Men	Ladies	Men	Ladies
36	36	24	27

7. SIZE OF FIELD AND SCHEDULE

Maximum of 896 players or 448 teams.
Schedules and shotgun tee times are as follows:

SCHEDULE A	SCHEDULE B	SCHEDULE C	SCHEDULE D
Thursday, Nov. 26 @ 6:15 AM	Thursday, Nov. 26 @ 12:15 PM	Friday, Nov. 27 @ 6:15 AM	Friday, Nov. 27 @ 12:15 PM
& Saturday, Nov. 28@ 12:15 PM	& Saturday, Nov. 28 @ 6:15 AM	& Sunday, Nov. 29 @ 12:15 PM	& Sunday, Nov. 29 @ 6:15 AM

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

8. STARTING TEES

MEN
(below 55 years old by Nov. 26, 2026

MEN

(55 years old and above by Nov. 26, 2026)

MEN

(70 years old and above by Nov. 26, 2026)

LADIES

(regardless of age)

Blue Tees

Silver Tees

White Tees

Red Tees

Men, aged 55 years and above may opt to play from the Blue Tees, provided that this is declared on or before November 15, 2026.
Men, aged 70 years and above may opt to play from the Silver or Blue Tee, provided this is declared on or before November 15, 2026.
Men with tournament handicap index of 25.1 and above must tee off from the Silver Tees.

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
Sponsors Division – Open to sponsors

Note: Team handicap is the average of the partners’ handicaps

11. CONFIRMATION OF ENTRIES

Registration entries shall only be considered confirmed after the settlement of tournament fee, and submission of accomplished entry form.
Primary members, their spouses, enrolled dependents and other junior dependents aged 12 yrs. old & above are qualified to participate.

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 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 15, 2026.
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 5:00 PM of Saturday, October 31, 2026.
50% penalty shall apply for cancellations made starting November 1, 2026. 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.

Reminder:
Balls outside the gimme circle must be putted out to avoid the risk of disqualification. This rule must be strictly followed.

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 rules men 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.

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

Note: A team may only win one (1) award. Should a team win both the Overall and Low Gross Champions, the team will be awarded the LOW GROSS CHAMPIONS title. Teams under the Sponsors Division are not eligible to win the Overall and Low Gross Award.

Maximum net points per player at Palmer Course is 42.

Maximum net points of the team at Player Course is 46.

18. HOLE-IN-ONE

Prizes will be up for grabs on all par 3 holes.
On Par 3 holes, participant has the option to tee off from their regular teeing area, or from the designated teeing area with a special hole-in-one prize.
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.
On top of the hole-in-one prizes an additional P100,000 in cash and gift certificates will be given away.

19. TIES

Ties shall be settled as follows:
1. Team with lower combined handicap shall prevail. If still tied,
2. Most points at the Player Course;
3. Most points at the Player Course’s last 9-holes totals (10-18); then
4. Most points at the Player Course’s last 6-holes, (13-18); then
5. Most points at the Player Course’s last 3-holes, (16-18); and finally
6. Countback on most points from the 18th hole.
Points based on net scores shall be used to break ties for the Overall Champions and group categories. Points based on gross scores shall be used to break ties for Low Gross award.

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 P800.00 per round and must be settled immediately after each round.

22. COCKTAILS & AWARDS NIGHT

Cocktail Nights shall be held on the 1st & 2nd day of the tournament.
Awards dinner shall be held at the Tennis Courts.
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.

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 inconveniences 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 about rulings shall be settled under Rule 20.2.