Lascuna eyes repeat in Country Club invitational

Tony Lascuna hopes to duplicate his feat last year and become the first player to win it back-to-back in The Country Club Invitational which fires off March 17 at the challenging par-70 The Country Club layout in Canlubang.

"Pipilitin natin makaulit," said Lascuna who had the luxury of familiarizing himself with the short but tough layout, one of the perks he won when he beat Angelo Que in a thrilling final round duel for the crown last year.

"Pero hindi mo pa rin masabi ang tsansa dito dahil kahit lamang ka, pag minalas ka pwede kang mag-80," added the 33-year-old Lascuna, just one of the many players tipped to contend for the top P1.1 million purse staked in the third staging of the four-day championship.

That’s because the 41-player field is teeming with talent with the likes of former Philippine Open champions Gerald Rosales and Robert Pactolerin and veteran campaigners Mars Pucay, Danny Zarate, Rey Pagunsan, Ruben Sasutil, Richard Sinfuego, Ramon Brobio and Carito Villaroman expected to go flat out to foil Lascuna’s back-to-back title bid.

Put in Cassius Casas, winner of the inaugural staging of the event in 2003 but who missed the cut last year, and young turks Jerome Delariarte, Cookie La’O and Marlon Dizon, the chase for top honors in the P3.8 million indeed looks to be a wide-open race.

In fact, some of the players, including Asian Tour regular campaigner Que, Pucay, Rosales and Zarate, will be coming into the event in fine form, having competed in a number of tournaments in the ongoing Asian golf circuit.

Organizers of the event, put up by Enrique Razon Jr. in 2003 to honor the memory of his father, Don Pocholo, an avid golfer like him, actually seeded the top 21 finishers last year with the rest of the competing field tapped by the sponsors.

Others seeing action are Cesar Ababa, Rey Alit, Eddie Bagtas, Ramil Bisera, Rogelio Cabajar, Al Cruz, Dan Cruz, Rodolfo Cuello, Rodrigo Cuello, Edwin Estrera, Benjie Magada, Mario Manubay, Peter Minoza, Ronald Pactolerin, Lito Rempojo, Elmer Salvador, Dimitrio Sanchez and Vic Santia.

To spice up the tournament, the traditional pro-am event will be held on March 16 with a revered roster of invited guests from the business sector and other fields expected to see action.

In their effort to boost the country’s bid in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games which the Philippines is hosting late this year, organizers of the event will give the top amateurs a rare chance to compete with the men of the tour in a bid to further hone their talent and skills.