Ned Norita tops 2025 Marianas Golf Classic

Ned Norita topped the low gross category of the 5th Annual Marianas Classic Golf Tournament held last Aug. 30 at the LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort.

The former Saipan Baseball League player shot a gross score of 70 to top the field. Brian Camacho came in second with his gross 71, while Zhi Yun Li actually tied the latter but settled for third place on a scorecard tiebreak.

“Every golf game is great. The weather was kind of hot. The course was muggy when it rained. When I was in No. 9, I think my last five holes, it really rained hard. But I just had to maintain my game and try to make pars,” said Norita.

As for the toughest hole, he said it was No. 7 on the east course because, “I hit my ball, it went to the right into the coconut trees, and I couldn't find it. Then I had to drop a ball and then got it on 3 and 2 putts. So, I bogeyed that hole. So that was the toughest hole for me.”

Norita, meanwhile, said his best hole was No. 1 after, “I hit a good drive. I was like, let's say 100, or no, I was, yeah, about 105 in. And when I hit my second shot, it was about 10 feet, and I made a birdie.”

Overall, he said, the 2025 Marianas Classic Golf Tournament had great competition as there were a lot of good golfers who played.

“I just tried to keep it calm and just play the game. I missed a lot of birdies, but I managed to save pars and hold it down,” said Norita, who dedicated his win to his family, especially his son, who is going into military training in Virginia.

In the women’s low gross, Me Ae Jeon edged Sylvia Cai, 77-78, to take the plum.

Pete Sablan, meanwhile, won the men’s double Peoria category with his 69.20 score, followed by Fr. James Balajadia, a former junior national golf player, and Peter “Dung” Tenorio finished tied with their identical 70s. The parish priest of Kristo Rai Church, however, edged Tenorio for runner-up honors with a birdie on hole No. 7.

In the women’s double Peoria, Yuko Togawa reigned supreme with her 72.40, followed by the 73 of Sae Hee Kim.

In the closest to the pin competition, Chris Leon Guerrero took the plum on hole No. 4. Ditto for Sean Sablan on No. 6, while Harry Nakamura and Jerry Lin topped holes 11 and 15, respectively.

In the accurate drive tilt, Carl Hocog won on No. 9 and Perry Inos was king on No. 7. Longest drive on No. 18, meanwhile, belonged to Keith Kintol.

Before the awards ceremony, Bank of Guam president and CEO Joaquin P. L.G. Cook announced that even before the 2025 Marianas Classic Golf Tournament, they had already surpassed their fundraising goals.

He said the $25,000 raised will all go to grant wishes of local boys and girls under the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Guam and the CNMI. He was later joined on stage by Citadel Holdings Inc. CEO Jim Beighley and IT&E CEO David Gibson.

Make-a-Wish Foundation Guam and CNMI president and CEO Eric Tydingco also spoke and thanked his board members for the job they do in granting children’s wishes in the Marianas.