Juvic tees off with PGA stars today

MANILA, Philippines - Juvic Pagunsan sets out for the biggest tournament of his career – the World Golf Championships – with the big names with big games converging at TPC Blue Monster in Florida not only for a true test, but also for a true theater of golf.

Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald – names Pagunsan could only dream of playing with a few tournaments ago until he surged to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit ranking with a swashbuckling runner-up finish in the Singapore Open late last year and gained a spot in the elite roster.

Now, it’s for real and the pressure could only mount for the 33-year-old Filipino, whose lean frame belies his power of the tee, as he heads to No. 10 for his 12:20 p.m. start Thursday (Friday in Manila) with Aussie Marcus Fraser and Italian Francesco Molinari.

“Pressure is always present with everyone,” Pagunsan told The STAR when asked how he would handle the weight of playing against these big names. “Even Tiger gets pressured. The key is to channel it properly.”

Pagunsan hopes his three practice rounds at Blue Monster will put him in good stead as he slugs it out with the game’s long-hitters although he maintains that everything, including the title, will be settled on the greens.

“I learned to work on putting more. This will be the key,” he said.

There is no midway cut so an aggressive strategy could be more of a rule rather than exception although with water hazards coming into play majority of the holes, including the famous par-4 finishing hole considered as a gut check and a potentially career-altering experience, course management will still be a premium.

According to the PGATour.com, the fairways at TPC have ranked no lower than ninth most difficult to split in any of the editions it’s hosted this event. The greens have finished inside the top 15 most challenging to hit in regulation three times, including 10th last year. The lion’s share of the scoring occurs on the putting surfaces.

Meanwhile, with the top 24 players in the field being grouped according to their place in the official World Golf Ranking, the featured threesome is that of McIlroy-Donald-Westwood teeing off three flights ahead of Pagunsan’s.

“It’s great to get to this position and obviously I’d love to stay here for as long as possible,” said McIlroy, who is No. 1 for the first time in his young career following his victory in Honda Classic last Sunday. “I just need to concentrate on playing good golf, trying to win tournaments, and if I can do that, then the position I’m at in the world rankings will hopefully take care of itself.”