MANILA, Philippines — Former Asian Tour Order of Merit winners Sihwan Kim of the United States and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond banner the big, formidable foreign charge in the $500,000 revival of the Philippine Open beginning Thursday next week at the Manila Southwoods’ Masters layout.
Kim and Janewattananond have won the OOM at one time in their careers and are listed as two of the favorites in the 72-hole championship along with bright Filipino hopes Miguel Tabuena and ex-champion Angelo Que as Asia’s oldest national championship gets a reboot after a five-year absence.
“It’s going to be a wide-open Open,” Que, the 2008 champion at Wack Wack, said with a smile. “A lot of good players are coming over and there will be a lot of them with legitimate chances to win.”
Kim has two wins to his credit, all of them in the 2022 season when he won his OOM title. He also joined the LIV Golf League that year, stayed until the end of 2023 before failing to make a team last year.