Rich TCC Invitational fires off today

STA. Rosa, Laguna—Conquering the winds and the length of the well-manicured layout are the main worries of the elite field as the 11th staging of the P5 million The Country Club Invitational gets off the ground here today.

Juvic Pagunsan and Angelo Que, both established Asian Tour stars, launch their bids for a fourth title in motion with veteran Antonio Lascuña looming as a solid darkhorse bet in the chase for the P1.5 million top prize.

Que said that he has been working with crack swing guru Bong Lopez the past two weeks specifically for this event. He is giving himself an even chance against 35 others.

“So far, so good,” the 34-year-old Que, the 2007, 2010-2011 champion, told the Inquirer yesterday. “All in all, I can say that my game is coming along pretty well. And I am comfortable playing the course. It’s my favorite tournament.”

Lascuña will be the hottest player in the field, having won last year’s Order of Merit race in the ICTSI Tour. Lascuña rallied to beat Singapore’s Mardan Mamat in the Sabah Masters last month. Musong R. Castillo