The 23rd IGAN Cup wasn't just another golf tournament on the calendar. Held at EastRidge Golf and Country Club in Binangonan, Rizal, the annual event brought together golfers, media personalities, and corporate sponsors to raise funds for the IGAN ng Pilipinas Foundation and its work helping children in need.
This year, the Titos of Tech were among those who joined the tournament with the support of Converge ICT Solutions. Raffy of Tech Patrol, Anjie of Teknogadyet, Eli of ElifestyleManila, and I, Bam of AdoboTech, were ready for a day of golf, networking, and hopefully a few decent scores.
The IGAN Cup and Its Bigger Purpose
The IGAN Cup is now on its 23rd year and is organized in support of the IGAN ng Pilipinas Foundation, which was established by veteran broadcast journalist Arnold A. Clavio. His years covering news for GMA brought him into contact with many Filipino families dealing with poverty, serious illnesses, and other difficult circumstances, particularly children who needed medical attention and support. Those experiences eventually helped shape the foundation's mission to assist destitute, sick, and differently-abled children.
Over the years, the foundation has worked with hospitals and other organizations to provide assistance to children and families who need it. The IGAN Cup has become one of the ways the foundation raises funds for that work, bringing together golfers, companies, media personalities, and supporters for a day of competition while contributing to a much more important cause.
Clavio was at EastRidge for the tournament, not only overseeing the event but also playing golf himself. It was a good representation of what the IGAN Cup has become over the years. It's a charity event, but it is also something that brings together people from different industries who have a common interest in helping the foundation continue its work.
The Titos of Tech and Converge
The four of us have spent plenty of time together at technology and media events, so being invited to a golf tournament wasn't exactly unfamiliar territory. Raffy, Anjie, Eli, and I cover different areas of technology, gadgets, digital services, lifestyle, and the people behind the Philippine tech industry, but golf has become another way for us to catch up and spend time together outside the usual press events.
For the 23rd IGAN Cup, Converge sponsored our participation, bringing the Titos of Tech together for a day that combined golf, networking, and charity. It was a natural fit for both sides. Converge is a major broadband provider in the Philippines, while technology and connectivity are central to what we cover every day.
Converge has also continued to receive recognition for its network performance. In the latest Ookla Speedtest Awards, the company received three major recognitions: Fastest Fixed Network, Best Fixed Network, and Best Fixed Video Experience. Its Speed Score of 61.12 was the highest among fixed internet providers in the Philippines in that assessment.
For this particular event, however, we weren't thinking much about internet speeds. We were more concerned with getting to the golf course on time.
Converge had already taken care of the event requirements for us. Our shirts, scorecards, and other tournament essentials were prepared, which meant we could focus on the day itself. There was just one thing they couldn't control.
Getting to EastRidge Was the First Challenge
Habagat had been making its presence felt across Metro Manila and nearby provinces, and the weather on September 7 gave us plenty of reasons to question whether golf was still a good idea. But the tournament was happening, the cause was worth supporting, and eventually, the four of us found ourselves making our way to EastRidge.
The plan was to leave around 9 AM and make our way to EastRidge with enough time before the 12 PM shotgun start. The course is roughly 44 kilometers from Makati, while the trip from Cavite added another challenge for some of us. Eli and Anjie had shorter drives, but everyone was dealing with the same weather and traffic conditions.
I ended up getting caught in Skyway traffic, turning what would normally be a roughly 30-minute trip into more than an hour. One Ayala wasn't moving much either, and the morning drive quickly became the first test of the day.
By the time we reached EastRidge, we had already missed the earlier shotgun start and arrived after the second one had begun. It wasn't exactly the ideal way to start a tournament, but thankfully the Converge team was already prepared for the reality of traveling around Metro Manila during bad weather. There was no unnecessary fuss about the late arrival. We got our things, changed, picked up what we needed, and headed toward the course.
Playing Golf Under the Habagat
The weather was a major factor throughout the round. The rain had left the course wet, making footing more difficult and forcing us to pay more attention to our grip and shots. The conditions also affected distance, so we had to adjust to a course that wasn't behaving quite the way it normally would.
For experienced golfers, playing in wet conditions is another part of the game. For us, it was a combination of trying to play properly while making sure we didn't slip, lose our equipment, or completely misjudge a shot.
Once we were out on the course, the weather became something we simply had to deal with. We moved from hole to hole, talked about our shots, exchanged the usual golf banter, and tried to put together decent scores. Converge also made sure we had snacks and drinks along the way, which became particularly useful as the rain continued.
Anjie even brought nuts and whisky, which may have been his own interpretation of golf-course preparation.
The rain certainly wasn't ideal, but it didn't stop everyone from enjoying the round. More importantly, being part of a charity tournament made the conditions easier to put into perspective. We weren't there simply to compete. We were also there to support an event that has spent 23 years raising funds for children who need assistance.
The Titos' Scores and a Few Surprises
By the time the round was finished, we finally had a chance to look at the scorecards and see how everyone performed. Anjie put together a particularly solid round, finishing with a gross 88 and a net 72 while making five pars. Those are respectable numbers under normal conditions, and even more so considering the rain we had been playing through. There was, however, a rather amusing issue with how his result was recorded.
His name ended up being associated with the women's division, which meant the score that could have made him competitive in one category didn't quite produce the result he wanted in the men's division. Anjie later joked about it himself: "Gross 88, Net 72, with 5 pars! Enough to win, kaso sa women's division napunta pangalan ko. Hahahaha. Ayun, olats sa Men's division. Too good for Class B, not enough for Class A." Meanwhile, the Titos had better luck when it came to the raffle. Eli won one of the major prizes, a 75-inch 4K TV, while I also managed to take home a minor raffle prize. So despite the traffic, the rain, and a few questionable golf shots, we didn't exactly leave empty-handed.
Why Events Like the IGAN Cup Matter
A charity golf tournament naturally attracts attention because of the companies, personalities, prizes, and players involved, but the real value of the IGAN Cup is what happens beyond the golf course. For 23 years, the tournament has helped the IGAN ng Pilipinas Foundation raise funds for its work supporting children who need medical assistance and other forms of help. That continued support is only possible because companies, sponsors, golfers, and participants are willing to take part.
Converge's support was part of that effort this year. While the company is better known for its broadband services and fiber network, events like this provide an opportunity to support a cause outside its regular business activities while bringing its community and media partners together. The same is true for the Titos of Tech. We spend most of our time talking about smartphones, gadgets, apps, connectivity, and technology, but there are times when it's good to step away from the usual product launches and press briefings and participate in something that benefits a community.
The 23rd IGAN Cup
The 23rd IGAN Cup turned out to be exactly the kind of event that gives the Titos of Tech another story to tell. We dealt with the traffic, arrived later than planned, played through heavy rain, compared scores, enjoyed the food and drinks, and watched Eli walk away with a 75-inch 4K TV.
But beyond all of that, we got to be part of an event that continues to support the IGAN ng Pilipinas Foundation and its work with children who need help.
We're grateful to Converge for bringing us along and taking care of the tournament arrangements, especially considering how difficult the weather made the trip. The conditions certainly weren't what we expected when we left that morning, but they didn't stop us from enjoying the day.
For four Titos who almost considered staying home because of the rain, it turned out to be a pretty good decision to go.
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