While the field is teeming with talent, experts believe it will be a showdown between Pagunsan and Que for top honors with the former raring to notch his third straight crown and the latter vowing to foil Pagunsan’s rare three-peat bid here.
One thing going for Pagunsan, the lone gold medalist in golf in last year’s SEA Games whose power often betrays his reed-thin frame, is that he will be playing on a course he calls home but the long-hitting Que, the reigning national champion, is out to re-stake his claim as the country’s top amateur player.
However, there loom some contenders to spoil the projected Pagunsan-Que duel, including Jerome Delariarte, former amateur champion Artemio Murakami, ex-pros Dave Hernandez and Rolly Viray and veterans Tommy Manotoc and Iggy Clavecilla.
Spicing up the 72-hole event is the 54-hole tournament for the country’s top women players with Heidi Chua hoping to add the DHL crown to her recent Philippine Ladies Open victory.
The Wack Wack bet will be up against practically the same field she bested in the RP Ladies tilt, including Aileen Yao, although the cast will now include former RP Ladies champion Carmelette Villaroman.
Rod Feliciano, president of the organizing National Golf Association of the Philippines and chair of the sponsoring DHL Philippines, said that the event will kick off another busy year for the NGAP.
"We’ll really try to get our amateurs into as many tournaments as possible. It’s going to be a big first quarter for us since we’re also organizing the Philippine Open and again, we will be forming a strong amateur cast there," he said.
Feliciano will also lead the ceremonial tee-off together with Luigi Yulo, managing director of the host club, and other DHL officials at 7:30 a.m. Tee-off time is at 8 a.m.