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:
- 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:
- 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:
- The Committee’s decision on pairings and hole assignments shall be considered final.
8. STARTING 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:
- Weekday – one round per course and must be accompanied by a member.
- 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:
- 1st offense – warning; participant placed on the clock
- 2nd offense – 2-point team penalty
- 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:
- Record only the gross scores; or
- 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:
- Signed by at least one member of the opposing team.
- 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:
- Most points at the Player Course;
- Most points at the Player Course’s last 9-holes totals (10- 18); then
- Most points at the Player Course’s last 6-holes, (13-18); then
- Most points at the Player Course’s last 3-holes, (16-18); and finally
- 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
