MVP-Phl Am unfolds at Wack Wack

MANILA, Philippines - Jobim Carlos and Kristopher Arevalo hope to come up with a strong start as they slug it out with a crack foreign field in the MVP Sports Foundation-Philippine Amateur Open Golf Championship unfolding today at Wack Wack’s East Course.

Carlos, out to atone for a mediocre stint in last month’s SEA Games in Myanmar, and Arevalo, a Junior World champion, head the local challenge seeking to end the foreign bets’ domination of the event in the absence of top Filipino shotmaker Rupert Zaragosa.

Focus will also be on Singapore’s Jerome Ng, who will be going for a title repeat after topping last year’s staging of the 72-hole event serving as part of the PLDT Group Amateur Tour and backed by Pancake House, Golf Depot and Pacsports.

The foreign bets actually lorded it over the local field the last three staging of the annual tournament with Korean Wang Jeung-hin winning at Riviera in 2011 and Gregory Foo, another Singaporean, reigning the following year.

But Carlos, Arevalo and the rest of the local bets are raring to prove their worth although they must dish out their best game to contend for the crown.

For one, the tough par-72 layout is expected to bring out the best – or the worst – from the competing field with its tight fairways and unpredictable surface especially when the wind come into play.

“It will be very difficult because the (East) course is playing so tough, and it was just a practice round,” Carlos said, referring to Friday’s round with some of the other participants.

“Certainly, anything near even-par could do the trick,” said Carlos.