INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines?A Philippine golf team now stacked with experience and power departs for Singapore Sunday seeking to end a 12-year title drought while breaking Thailand?s two-decades-old stranglehold of the Putra Cup, Southeast Asia?s official team championship.

Reigning Philippine Am champion Ferdie Aunzo, Philippine Open low amateur winner Jhonnel Ababa and first-time nationals Rufino Bayron and Tonlits Asistio comprise the team many feel has an even chance of hitting pay-dirt.

The 28-year-old Aunzo is in his final year as an amateur and would like nothing than a respectable showing, if not a championship romp in Singapore, to add to his resumé that also includes several international titles.

Ababa, meanwhile, is a 23-year-old product of the National Caddies? Open program in Calatagan, Batangas. Like Aunzo, he will be playing in his fourth straight tournament wearing the Philippine colors.

Incidentally, Aunzo and Ababa were in the team that collapsed in the final round at the Country Club in Laguna last year, throwing away a spectacular rally from 12 strokes down to allow Thailand to escape with a two-shot win.

Bayron, the reigning DHL Open champion and younger brother of former RP amateur ace Jay, will be playing for the Philippines for the first time and is expected to contribute heavily in the four-to-play, three-to-count format.

Asistio, on the other hand, is a veteran internationalist, having played for the Philippines in several age-group tournaments before qualifying to make this team last week.

The 19-year-old Asistio is easily the longest hitter in the team, and if he can be consistent enough, he could count in all four rounds.

?We?ve got a pretty solid team this year. We expect Aunzo and Ababa to provide the experience through all four rounds and Bayron and Asistio the explosion on any given day,? said national coach Bong Lopez.

Thailand has won eight of the last 11 editions of this event and will be working on a second straight title at the Singapore Island?s Bukit course starting Tuesday.

The Philippines, with a team built around Antonio Lascuña and Rey Pagunsan, last triumphed in this tournament in 1996 in Myanmar, where Lascuña also completed a sweep for the Filipinos by winning the individual title.

Philippine teams led by the late great Luis ?Golem? Silverio and Tommy Manotoc were practically unbeatable up until the late 1980s before Thailand starting winning in 1985.

The Thais closed out the 1990s with four straight titles before losing the 2001 plum to the Malaysians in Malaysia and starting a string of three more championships after that. Thailand and the Philippines did not play in the 2006 staging in Papua New Guinea which Singapore won.

Jun Galindez, the National Golf Association of the Philippines secretary-general, and director Pablo Soon will head the RP delegation.