Philippine Amateur Open kicks off today in Silang
THE Philippine Amateur Open Golf Championship opens today at the Riviera's Couples course in Silang, Cavite, with a crack field of competitors staking their claim.
A four- day championship ( Jan. 5 to 8), organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) and hosted by Riviera Golf and Country Club, the Philippine Amateur Open is expected to feature exciting golf play from some of the best players in the country and abroad.
Won by the now-professional Jobim Carlos by seven strokes last year at the event held at the Eagle Ridge Golf & Country Club (Aoki Course), former champion Rupert Zaragosa and rising stars Dan Cruz, Ira Alido, Aidric Chan, Weiwei Gao, Gab Manotoc, Kristoffer Arevalo, Jed Dy and Carlo Villaroman head the 91-player men's roster that includes young and veteran campaigners from Malaysia, Taiwan, Ireland, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Guam, United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand and the United States.
Also competing is the on- a- roll Yuto Katsuragawa, who powered Manila Southwoods to a runaway win in the recent Fil-Am Championship in Baguio and led his partnership with Carl Corpus to the NGAP National Doubles crown at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club last week.
International challenge in the country's premier amateur championship is expected to come from Koreans Jang Young Cheol and Jeon Jeong Hyun as well as Hong Kong's Lucas Lam, Malaysians Tuck Soon Chan and Abdul Rahman Daeng, Taiwanese Han-Wei Chiu, Marc Newman of UK, Masaki Uljie of Guam, American Jaycue Vales and Japanese Koji Yasuma.
DISTAFF SIDE
In the women's field, meanwhile, defending champion Harmie Constantino leads the cast with reigning World Junior Girls' champion Yuka Saso, pro tour winner Hwang Min Jeong of Korea, Malaysian Durriyah Damian Nur, Thailand's Anannarukaen Pajaree and Korean Yang Ju Young.
Others vying for the championship are Nicole Abelar, Diana Araneta, Sam Bruce, Alex Etter, Weifang Gao, Louise Go, Katie Kim, Missy Legaspi, Jona Magcalayo, Riko Nagai, Bianca Pagdanganan and Kristine Torralba.
Last year Ms. Constantino beat Lee Jihyeon of South Korea by eight strokes to win the title.
Originally set to take place at Eagle Ridge anew, this year's Philippine Amateur Open, backed by the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour and sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, Smart and Metro Pacific Investment Corp., was moved to Riviera after nonstop rain rendered Eagle Ridge's courses unplayable.