Elmer to defend RP Open title at Valley

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Open, the country’s premier golf championship, will be held Dec. 15-18 with Asia’s oldest golfing event making its return to the Valley Golf Club in Antipolo in nearly two decades.

Elmer Salvador will try to defend the crown he won over a stellar field last year at Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club in Lipa, Batangas but will face a highly charged field coming off a year-long campaign on the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour.

Salvador held off Dutchman Guido Van der Valk in the final round to chalk up a three-stroke victory last year, capping a banner season that saw the Davaoeño shotmaker also run away with the Order of Merit crown on the local circuit.

Last year’s field that included the cream of the country’s pro crop will be back again in December, led by Frankie Miñoza, Angelo Que, Tony Lascuña, Artemio Murakami, Mars Pucay, Marvin Dumandan, Jay Bayron, Cassius Casas and Robert Pactolerin.

Former national champion Mhark Fernando and Jhonnel Ababa are also expected to join the hunt for the crown as they make their debut on the pro tour.

American Dennis Paulson humbled the local pros and other top foreign players to capture the crown in the 1991 edition of the annual event at Valley, which is expected to provide a different kind of challenge for the men of the tour.

Valley last hosted a pro tournament in 2009 with Salvador outlasting Ababa then pulling off a two-stroke victory over Gene Bondoc with an eight-under 208 total.

The traditional pro-am tournament, featuring the leading pros and officials of the event’s sponsors and guests, will be held Dec. 14.

Registration is ongoing with fees pegged at P3,000 for local pros and $100 for foreign entries, according to the organizing National Golf Association of the Phils. For details, contact NGAP (Susan Facundo) at 7065926 or 0917-5607074.

Like last year, the NGAP is pushing through with the Open at the end of the year although it will not be a part of the Asian Tour for the second straight time.

The Philippine Open used to be a leg of the Asian Tour with the local players slugging it out with region’s leading shotmakers. But after 2008, the AT and NGAP officials had failed to strike a new deal, leaving the Open without the Asian stars and out of the Asian Tour calendar.