Power hitters seek to dominate S’woods tilt
CARMONA, Cavite – Premium will be on shotmaking with the long hitters from the crack international field expected to lead to assault on the Legends course in today’s start of the ICTSI Manila Southwoods Golf Championship here.
Jobim Carlos sets out for a second crown in as many weeks, Tony Lascuña seeks to finally nail the elusive win and Angelo Que aims to make a mark in a rare stint on the Philippine Golf Tour Asia. With the rest of the stellar 115-player cast, including 59 foreign aces, all primed up for the $100,000 event, expect a shootout right in the opener of the third leg of Season 2 of the region’s newest circuit.
The bunker-laden 7,171-yard course could be there for the taking for the tour’s power hitters with cloudy skies and wind speed estimated at 8km/hr in the next two days. But the course’s last line of defense could bring out the best – or the worst – from the elite bidders with pin placements expected to be placed in strategic spots in all four days of the championship put up by ICTSI.
The young Carlos hopes to cash in on his good form that netted him a breakthrough victory in the PGTA ICTSI Riviera Classic last weekend but the former amateur hotshot, who had earlier won a team crown in the National Pro-am, sees a tougher outing this time with the rest eager to foil his drive for another crown.
“It’s great to finally get a solo win on the tour. I like how my game is going but it feels great knowing that I can handle myself when I’m in contention,” said Carlos. “I feel comfortable here (at Southwoods) but it’s tough to win here because of how low the scores could get on this course. You really have to make birdies.”