Calatagan tests ICTSI bets Wednesday

MANILA, Philippines—A stern test awaits the country’s pros when the Calatagan Golf Club course in Batangas, a rolling layout most of the players are not familiar with, hosts the 14th leg of the ICTSI Tour starting Wednesday.

The 54-hole, P1-million event will be the first-ever pro tournament to be held at the course built in the late 1970s by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and stretched to 7,200 yards by club manager Dave Hernandez.

“The players, considering their talent, could still crack par here,” Hernandez, a former World Amateur campaigner, told the Inquirer.

A talented crop, led by Order of Merit contender Jay Bayron, and the former members of the National Caddies Open program are tipped as the favorites after making the course their home for several years.

Bayron trails overall OOM leader Juvic Pagunsan by less than P500,000 and has a realistic shot at retaining the title. But this year’s Aboitiz champion needs to win at least two of the last three legs, to pull through.

Bayron has a golden chance after No. 2 Elmer Salvador decided to skip the event to campaign in Malaysia.

The last two legs will be held in Canlubang and then Wack Wack.

Rookies Jonel Ababa, Mark Fernando and Jessie Balasabas, products of the NCO program for five years starting in 2004, know the layout well.