MCS golf tourney returns with high drama

The 2025 Mount Carmel School Golf Tournament teed off on Saturday, Sept. 20, at LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort’s East Course after a long hiatus, returning with high drama in the gross division as three teams finished tied at 9-under-par 63, forcing a sudden playoff on the 18th hole to decide the champions. Held to raise funds for the renovation of MCS facilities, the event drew strong community support with 104 golfers, and the competition did not disappoint.

After the dramatics, Joe Camacho and Harry Nakamura came out on top, while Ziekang Ma (Henry) and Qinao Liang (Henry) took second place, and Joseph Sasamoto and Marco Peter finished third.

In the Double Peoria system, the pair of Freddy Salavaria and Joseph Muna rose to the top with

a net score of 68.20, edging out father-and-son duo Joey and Kazu Dela Cruz, who placed second at 68.60, and Zhiyun Li and Franco Santos, who took third with 69.20.

The tournament also featured several optional contests, adding extra excitement across the course. Luther Taylor claimed closest to the pin on Hole #4, Peter Tenorio on Hole #6, Joseph Muna on Hole #11, and Harry Nakamura on Hole #15. Brian Camacho showed his power with the longest drive on Hole #18, while Qinao Liang (Henry) earned the aggressive drive award on Hole #8.

In total, the tournament awarded $5,050 in prizes, underscoring not only the competitive spirit of the event but also its festive return to Saipan’s golf scene.

MCS president John Blanco said he hopes the tournament will become an annual event moving forward. “We just wanted to get things going because it’s been a while. I think the last time was in 2007,” he said.

This year, the funds will go toward fixing up the school’s Chalan Kanoa campus. “The facilities need to be fixed. For this one in particular we’re earmarking it to fix our C Building roof. That’s one of our big areas that need to be prepared,” he added.

The turnout, he said, was good. “For next year, we want to increase the number of participants and keep it going for a while.” Blanco thanked the event’s sponsors, golfers, and MCS staff for making the comeback possible.

Tournament director and player Marco Peter echoed the excitement. “There’s a lot of strong teams out there, but you’ll never know. There’s a few ties for the top gross players so they have to go out and play one hole to see who’s gonna win. Everybody did well today. There’s a lot of screaming and yelling so I can tell everybody enjoyed playing today.”

He added, “We actually had 100 percent turnout of golfers today so that’s one of the few times that everybody actually came out to play. So it’s a great feeling. Me and my partner Joe Sasamoto, we enjoyed it, but in all aspects it was really the support of the whole community—the golf community and even those who don’t usually play came out. It was very successful.”