MANILA, Philippines — A strong field led by four of the past Order of Merit winners in the last 10 years will vie for the title in the Philippine Golf Championship presented by the Philippine Sports Commission that kick off in the Asian Tour season starting Thursday at the East Course of the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City.
American John Catlin claimed the OOM back in 2024, an award given to the player who accumulates the most points in the Asian Tour and in other sanctioned events of the continent’s professional golf tour. That same year, he was also named the Player of the Year in the Asian Tour, which he also won in 2018.
Sihwan Kim, who also represents the US, won the OOM and the Player of the Year title in 2022, while Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand bagged the same hardware during the 2019 Asian Tour season.
The event will also feature former Asian Tour winners Suteepat Prateeptienchai, Poosit Supupramai, Ekpharit Wu, Rattanonn Wannasrichan and Sadom Kaewkanjana of Thailand, Jbe Kruger of South Africa, Hongtaek Kim of Korea and Lee Chieh Po of Taiwan, part of the 144 golfers in the field.
This season-opening event of the Asian Tour offers a total prize purse of US$500,000 together with the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP). This also marked the second straight year that the country will host the first leg of the Asian Tour.
Angelo Que, a former Philippine Open champion, will be one of the 25 local professionals seeing action in the event, and to have the first event of the Asian Tour here tells how much golf has developed in the country.
“It’s good that the first Asian Tour event for two years in a row is here in the Philippines and it goes to show that the Philippines is coming back again in the Asian Tour,” said Que.
“We have a lot of up and coming players, it’s a good feeling. It’s nice that we play here in Wack Wack again. Local knowledge helps. It’s not as long as the other courses. Even us old guys will have a chance to compete against them.” “Every first event is always a stronger field, even if it’s a small event because they want to start the season right away. That’s why being the first event of the season is always good,” he added.
Aside from Que, other Philippine Open winners and local bets seeing action in the event include Clyde Mondilla and Gerald Rosales. Antonio Lascuna, a five-time Philippine Golf Tour OOM winner, will also play as they will be joined by 16 invited local players, and six national golfers from the amateur ranks.
Supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the event not only positions the country as a regional golfing powerhouse. It proves that the Philippines is one of the major sports and tourist destinations.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. gave his approval to this tournament under the National Sports Tourism Inter-Agency Committee headed by PSC chairman Patrick Gregorio.
“I’ve realized early on, sports tourism excites the Filipinos. It’s good news and it’s aspirational. PSC’s role is to enourage our sports stakeholders to play a pro active role in hosting international competitions to showcase the sport and to showcase our country,” said Gregorio.
“The biggest tourism events in the world as sports events. The PSC is an enabler. We’re happy when Pinoys clap. When Pinoys cheer. When Pinoys dream. That is the beauty of sports… kahit saglit napapasaya natin ang mga kabataan pati na kanilang mga magulang,” added Gregorio.
As for NGAP, its president Martin Lorenzo expressed optimism as having the Asian Tour will inspire the younger generations.
“We are honored to once again host the Asian Tour in the Philippines. Showcasing elite golf remains central to our mission, as we aim to inspire the next generation to take up the sport and pursue excellence,” said Lorenzo.
“We extend our sincere thanks to our presenter, the Philippine Sports Commission, and to our venue host, Wack Wack Golf and Country Club, for their invaluable support,” he added. TMT
