Pros resume title hunt in Philippine golf tour

MANILA, Philippines - The men of the tour get busy again next week when the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour resumes its 11-leg circuit with back-to-back tournaments featuring a couple of P1 million events at Riviera in Cavite and Forest Hills in Antipolo, respectively.

The country’s leading shotmakers actually stayed in top form during the local tour’s break after the ICTSI Classic at Mt. Malarayat last February as they competed on the Mercedes-Benz Tour with Jay Bayron coming up with a pair of runner-up finishes at Manila Southwoods and in Pattaya, Thailand.

That makes him the early favorite, along with ICTSI-PGT leg winners Elmer Salvador and Marvin Dumandan and regular Asian Tour campaigners Juvic Pagunsan, Angelo Que and Tony Lascuña, in the ICTSI-Riviera Classic, which fires off May 19 at the Langer course of The Riviera in Silang, Cavite.

Top amateur Mhark Fernando actually humbled the elite pro field when he ruled the ICTSI-Riviera Classic under demanding conditions but Pagunsan and company are expected to dominate this time along with the other pros seeing action in the 54-hole tournament, organized by the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

Around 80 pros and 20 amateurs will be seeing action in the third leg of the ICTSI-PGT circuit, backed by MJ Carr Golf Management, Jaguar, Land Rover, Studio 23, Balls TV, Srixon/Cleveland Golf, Callaway Golf and Golf Punk, headed by Dumandan, Bayron and Salvador, the frontrunners in the Order of Merit ranking.

Dumandan, who came from behind to post a four-shot victory over Bayron and Orlan Sumcad at Sherwood, shows the way in the OOM race with earnings of P223,500 while Bayron has P212,500 for second and Salvador, winner of the kickoff leg at Mt. Malarayat, in third with P209,250.

Sumcad, still winless but with a couple of solid finishes, is in fourth with P137,500 followed by Jun Bernis (79,750), Ferdie Aunzo (67,000), Tony Lascuña (65,200), Mars Pucay (P65,200), Benjie Magada (P58,850) and Cassius Casas (55,450) in that order.

Bayron, meanwhile, will defend his crown at the ICTSI-Forest Hills Championship slated May 26-28 at the Forest Hills Golf Club, which offers P200,000 to the winner.

Meanwhile, both events will hold pro-am tournaments on May 18 and 25, respectively, featuring the leading pros and their amateur partners from the event’s sponsors and backers with fabulous prizes at stake.