"I have been a participant in the LPGA for over three years now and have been envious of the Asian participants because of the support accorded them by their respective countries. I believe that this can only be rectified by winning a championship on the tour," said Rosales in a statement released in time for the launching of the event yesterday at the Holiday Inn inside the Mimosa Leisure Estate.
The announcement, however, failed to dampen the spirits of the RP Open organizers who vowed to stage the $150,000 championship, even without the country’s top female golfer, to the best of their ability.
In fact, Benny Gopez, chairman of the organizing committee and sec-gen of the NGAP (National Golf Association of the Phils.), downplayed Rosales’ decision to skip the event in favor of a stint in the ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia, an $800,000 championship, set in the same week of the RP Open.
"We have actually invited a female golfer and she is beautiful. But her name is not Jennifer Rosales," said Gopez in jest.
Rosales, on the other hand, thanked the NGAP for exploring the possibility of her becoming the first female golfer to play in an all-male RP Open, Asia’s oldest and the country’s most prestigious championship. But she reiterated her desire to concentrate on the task at hand, that is, scoring the elusive first win in the lucrative LPGA circuit.
"I have not been successful (on the tour)," said Rosales, whose best finish in a three-year pro career was second in the Giant Eagle Classic last year. "It is for this reason that I have decided to decline the invitation to participate in the Philippine Open."
No less than $150,000 in prize money will be at stake, with defending champion Canadian Rick Gibson leading the hunt for the crown along with Frankie Miñoza and some 100 foreign players from the Asian PGA Tour.
"It is our honor and privilege to partner with NGAP in organizing the Philippine Open, which, I was told, is the premier sporting competition in the country," said Charles Brewer, DHL country manager in the country.
Gibson, the amiable Canadian married to a Filipina and who has raised his family here, won the Philippine Open in 2002. "The Philippines has always been kind to me," said Gibson. "I hope I’m as lucky in the next Philippine Open, despite the tough competition, I hope to defend my title in February."
Miñoza, the country’s No. 1 golfer for nearly 15 years now, won the Philippine Open in 1998 at the Riviera in Silang, Cavite.
Also seeing action are 2000 RP Open champion Gerald Rosales, 2001 RP Open winner Cassius Casas and a host of local-bred campaigners like Rodrigo Cuello, Danny Zarate, Mars Pucay and Angelo Que.