Ababa targets 2nd PGT Asia crown at Pradera
Jhonnel Ababa hopes to cash in on his top form as he seeks a second Philippine Golf Tour Asia crown at the Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club starting Wednesday against practically the same field he dominated at Eagle Ridge over the weekend.
Ababa banners the elite 87-player field in the $100,000 ICTSI Pradera Verde Classic, brimming with confidence after snapping a three-year title drought with a PGTA record seven-shot victory over Elmer Salvador in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational at the windy Aoki layout.
“I just hope this is just the start of something big for me,” said Ababa, referring to his victory in the sixth leg of the region’s newest circuit put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.
Still, the former amateur hotshot expects a fierce challenge from the stellar cast, including 29 foreign rivals led by Americans Nicolas Paez and John Michael O’Toole, Thais Pasavee Lertvilai and Tommy Mansuwat and Canadian Lindsey Renolds.
Others tipped to contend for the top $17,500 purse in the 72-hole Jhonnel Ababa championship are Singapore’s Choo Tze Huang, Aussies Rick Coleman, David Gleeson and Dane Mcardle, Indonesians Elki Kow and Clement Kurniawan, Macedonian Peter Stojanovski and Dutch Guido Van der Valk.
Meanwhile, torrid scoring is expected at the flat par-72 layout, which is hosting a tournament of this magnitude for the first time, although it could change in the presence of the wind.
“We do expect to score low but if the wind comes into play in all four days, it could lead to a wild, unpredictable finish,” said PGTA Wack Wack leg winner Tony Lascuña.