CAGAYAN de Oro’s Alethea Paige ‘Ally’ Gaccion has come a long way from being an asthmatic child into becoming a golf hero in Mindanao.
The 15-year-old Gaccion, now a Grade 11 student of Corpus Christi Pueblo Campus, recently made history by becoming the second Filipino to win the prestigious Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in Vietnam.
Last Friday, Gaccion shot a bogey (a two-over-par 74) in her final putt on the 18th hole to win by six shots over C. Chung in the girls’ 16-and-under division.
Although admitting she’s still lacking in her putting skills (as reflected when she three-putted twice in 54 holes), Gaccion’s feat was enough to match the accomplishment of Marvi Monsalve who topped the girls’ Under-21 bracket in 2013.
“I’m so happy and confident to achieve more after my victory in Vietnam. It was my toughest competition thus far,” Gaccion told Gold Star Daily, knowing what she did is something big to boost the morale of Mindanao golfers.
For the record, Gaccion became the first parbuster outside Metro Manila to win a major international tournament in the modern era.
Her mother, Pie shared she could not imagine seeing their once asthmatic Ally develop into a competitive athlete since her husband Alfred, a lawyer, enrolled their daughter in a swim clinic at five-year-old and later indulged her in junior triathlon just to normalize, if not strengthen her lungs.
“Daghan nga sports disciplines iyang gi-apilan tungod sa asthma pero mas comfortable and passionate siya sa golf where she finds it relaxing and mas naa siya'y potential,” Gaccion’s mother said.
Meanwhile, a motivated Ally is now preparing for the Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines (JGFP) Interclub tournament, representing Pueblo de Oro, and another junior golf tourney in Indonesia on May 30.
“We’re also very thankful to the new JGFP president Oliver Gan and strong backer Han Gaisano for also holding tournaments in Mindanao, dili na karon parehas sa una nga naka-focus lang sa Manila. Very supportive sab atong Pueblo de Oro Golf Club dire under new manager Gil Velez, the JGFP, and, of course, the Corpus Christi School especially Sir Makoy (Mark Alfonso del Fierro),” added Ally’s aunt Gladys Gaccion Opitz.
Under Gan’s stewardship, the JGFP has been holding now regular junior golf events in Davao, Pueblo de Oro, Cebu, and Del Monte where the promising Gaccion won the Davao and Pueblo de Oro legs of the JGFP tourney before heading to Vietnam.
“I’ve been dreaming to become a professional golfer and play in a lot of pro-golf events in the US someday. That is part of my ambition in life,” said Gaccion, who just arrived home from Manila.
