GENERAL TOURNAMENT RULES

A. RULES OF PLAY

The tournament is for AMATEUR GOLFERS ONLY and shall be conducted in accordance with the R&A Rules Limited, the USGA and the Local Rules of both Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay Golf Club.

B. SCHEDULE

C.MANNER OF COMPETITION

The tournament will be divided into two (2) groups, the “FIL” and the “AM” Divisions.
Both Divisions shall play 72 holes using Stableford scoring system.
For Team and Individual competitions, there will be a SENIORS Division bracketed into five (5) flights – “Championship” to “D””, while the Men’s REGULARS will be bracketed into EIGHT (8) flights- “Championship” to “G”. Each bracket will still be separate into an “Fil” and “Am” Division.
Practice rounds are for bonafide Fil-Am participants only. Guests are strictly prohibited. Teams violating such will be subject to disqualification. Both courses will be available for practice rounds on November 23, 2022, to 12:00 noon of November 25, 2022, for SENIORS and REGULAR FLIGHTS F & G and December 3, 2022, to 12:00 noon of December 5, 2022, for REGULAR FLIGHTS CH, A, B, C, D & E. Practice rounds for both courses must be scheduled in advance upon registration.

D. ENTRIES

Participating Team Priority.
a. Invited Golf Clubs in the Philippines
b. Invited Golf Clubs outside the Philippines
c. Sponsor Teams
d. Local Teams with invitation
e. New Teams and Local Teams
As stated in our Invitation, Teams who fielded at least two (2) teams in 2019 are allowed to field a maximum of two (2) entries consisting of 1 Fil and 1 Am team. If your team fielded only one team last year and you wish to add a second team this year, your second team will be put on the waitlist.
Eligible teams must confirm their participation in the tournament by submitting to the Tournament Committee their completed entry forms and the corresponding fees on or before October 1, 2022. Waitlisted teams will be entertained after October 1.
Each team MUST have a designated Team Captain who shall ensure that his team members are familiar with the rules of golf, tournament rules and other rules applicable to the competition. The Team Captain is responsible for verifying, authenticating and submitting copies of the handicap indexes of his team members.
Team Captains can confirm and amend their line-ups at the Baguio Country Club Secretariat. All changes in a team’s line-up must be done at the Team Captains meeting in writing not later than 12:00 nn of November 23, 2022 for the Seniors and Regular Flights F & G and 12:00nn of December 3 , 2022 for the Regular Flights CH, A, B, C, D & E. Failure of the Team Captain to confirm and certify his team will relieve the Committee of any responsibility for any errors in line-ups or handicaps.

E. HANDICAP

Handicap indexes shall be submitted with the team’s application. All participants must have a valid and verifiable World Handicap System (WHS) or a US GHIN handicap. The Committee reserves the right to reject or adjust handicap indexes of a player before or during tournament proper. The LOWEST HANDICAP INDEX garnered during the 2-month period from June 16 and August 1, 2022 shall be utilized for this year’s tournament. NO WHS/GHIN, NO PLAY
* Handicap index of a player that does not comply with the prescribed window (June 16 – August 1) is subject to a 33% reduction.
The Maximum allowable index of a player is 28. Players with indexes of 28.1 and above are ineligible to participate.
The average of the 3 lowest Handicap indexes will be used for classification of teams. No player in the “AM” Division shall have a lower handicap than those players in the “FIL” Division.
Questions on handicap indexes of other teams/players shall ONLY be considered until 6:00 PM of November 25, 2022 for the Seniors and Regular Flights F & G, and December 5, 2022 for the Regular Flights CH, A, B, C, D & E.
Teams/ individuals shall be disqualified for submitting confirmed false handicap indexes (Rule 3.3b, Rules of Golf) and may be banned from future participation in the FIL-AM. Team protests must be submitted in writing with an attached proof to the Tournament Committee. The Committee reserves the right to investigate any handicaps.

NOTE: If a player has more than one (1) handicap index, the lowest handicap index shall be used. It is the Team Captain’s responsibility to ensure the lowest handicap index of his player is submitted. Failure to report a handicap index may result in disqualification.

F. CLASSIFICATION

Team placements in the different flights will be based on the average of the three (3) lowest handicap indexes in the team.
First Week (November 23 – December 1, 2022)
➡ Seniors Division Championship, A, B, C and D Flights
➡ Regulars Division Flights F and G

Second Week (December 3 – 11, 2022)
➡ Regulars Division Championship, A, B, C, D and E Flights
All players for the Seniors Division must be 55 years of age by November 26, 2022.
All team champions of the different classifications from last year’s tournament may be advanced to a higher classification at the discretion of the Tournament Committee.
Request for team classification, elevation or preferred playing week SHALL NOT BE ENTERTAINED.
Players wanting to play both weeks of the tournament are permitted to do so.
The Tournament Committee reserves the right to classify or reclassify any team/s if it deems such change is for the good of the tournament.

G. SCORECARD / SCORING SYSTEM

Official Scorecard Box shall be placed in the designated scoring area on the 18th Hole of both Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay Golf Club. Once the scorecard has been placed/dropped into the scorecard box, the scorecard is deemed to have been submitted.
The tournament will be scored by the following system:
6 points – Hole-In-One on par 4 or Double Eagle/ Albatross
5 points – Hole-In-One on par 3
4 points – two under par (Eagle)
3 points – one under par (Birdie)
2 points – par
1 point – one over par (Bogey)
*Note: Players are reminded to record strokes and not points on the official scorecard.
Each team may field five (5) players with four (4) scores to count for the team for the day.
Ties shall be broken as follows:
Team Competition
a. Final round score of the 5th player. (Score that did not count)
b. Best team score for the last 18 holes
c. Best team score for the last 36 holes
d. Best team score for the last 54 holes
e. Most number of eagles then birdies, then pars, then bogeys

Individual Competition
a. Final round score of the player
b. Final 36 holes score of the player
c. Final 54 holes score of the player
d. If still tied, final 9 holes, final 6 holes, final 3 holes, hole by hole count back from the 72nd hole.

H. TEAM & INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Team trophies will be awarded to Champions, 1st Runners-up and 2nd Runners-up from the “Championship” flights through “G” flights in the Regulars, from “CH” flights through “D” flights for the Seniors, and Super Seniors for both “FIL” and “AM” Divisions.
Five (5) trophies will be awarded to the members of the winning teams. In case of teams having more than five (5) players, additional trophies will be sent at a later date.
A Trophy will be awarded to the medalist of each individual classification as determined by handicap indexes.
Hole-in-one awards will only be issued for those made during the tournament proper.

I. TEE TIMES AND REQUEST FOR TEE TIME PAIRINGS

Pairings and starting times will be released and posted. Pairings sheets will be made available at the secretariat.
Team Captains are required to submit their pairings on or BEFORE 7:00 P.M. Changes in Player’s starting times will not be allowed. A Team Captain may replace a player with a registered alternate/s up until one (1) hour prior to scheduled tee time.
Teams who fail to field the minimum number of four (4) players daily may be disqualified and automatically lose their standing for an invitation to the following year’s tournament.
The Tournament Committee will not entertain any requests for tee times or playing dates. Players who join the tournament must be ready to play on any day of the tournament dates and tee times assigned to them by the Tournament Committee.

J. RULES DECISION

Questions regarding Rules of Golf shall be referred ONLY to the Rules Committee.
Any protest must be submitted immediately in writing (signed by the Team Captain) not later than 6:00 pm of the day of the stipulated round.
Decisions of the Rules Committee shall be final.

K. FIL-AM LOCAL RULES

1. PACE OF PLAY GUIDELINES

All players must always maintain the proper pace of play. If a group falls behind by having an open hole in front of them, they will be warned by a course marshal/rules official and asked to speed up play and keep pace with the group ahead.

1. If they do not, in the opinion of the marshal/official, make a conscious effort to speed up play in the next few holes, the marshal/rules official will time all members of the group.
2. The rules official doing the timing shall be the sole judge of when it is the players turn to play and he is able to play without interference or distraction. Any player who takes more than forty (40) seconds to play his shot from the time it is his turn to play shall incur a BAD TIME and be subject to the following penalties:

1 st Bad Time	Warning
2 nd Bad Time	One (1) point deduction from total team points
3 rd Bad Time	Two (2) point deduction from total team points
4 th Bad Time	Disqualification for the stipulated round. Player will be asked to discontinue play.

2. MANDATORY PICK-UP AFTER BOGEY

3. WRONG SCORE FOR HOLE

1. The player is responsible for the correctness of the score recorded for each hole on his scorecard. If the player returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken, PLAYER IS DISQUALIFIED FOR THE STIPULATED ROUND. If he returns a score for any hole higher than actually taken, the score as returned stands.
2. WE highly encourage all players to check their scorecard before signing and submission or dropping into the designated Score Box. If any matters arise during play that needs to be settled, check with The Committee before submitting the scorecard. Both player and marker may be disqualified for the submission of an incorrect scorecard.

L. DISQUALIFICATION/ SUSPENSION

At any time, the Tournament Committee reserves the right to disqualify and / or suspend any team or individual from their participation in the FIL – AM Invitational Golf Tournament. Reasons for disqualification/ suspension may include the following:

Disrespect to the sponsors, tournament officials and staff.
Unbecoming conduct and gross violations of the Rules of Golf and serious breach of golf etiquette by any team member/s during the tournament.
Violation of the House Rules of both Host Clubs/Hotels.
Whether intentional or not, misrepresentation and/or playing under any other identity.

M. CLOSE OF COMPETITION

The Tournament is deemed to be closed after the awarding of trophy prize in each division.

THE TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE REVISIONS AT ITS DISCRETION – TO ADJUST OR FOREGO – IF IT FEELS THAT SUCH ACTIONS ARE IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE TOURNAMENT.