INQUIRER Sports

SINGAPORE?For the Philippines, this is as close to home as it could get.

A well-prepared Philippine golf team tasked to end a 12-year title drought in the Putra Cup arrived on this magnificent island Sunday and might like what it will see in Monday?s official practice round.

Host Singapore has chosen the relatively short and mature Bukit layout of the Singapore Island Country Club here as the site of this year?s Southeast Asia official team championship where the Filipinos will try to unseat Thailand starting Tuesday.

The four-man RP squad, experienced and laden with talent, will gun for a first title since 1996 and put to rest the ghost of a huge final round collapse that resulted in a close second place finish last year at The Country Club in Laguna.

Ferdinand Aunzo, the reigning amateur champion back home, will spearhead this batch that also includes this year?s RP Open low amateur Jonel Ababa and first-time nationals Rufino Bayron and teener Tonlits Asistio.

The team, whose trip was backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, arrived just before noon, had a hearty meal in one of the big fast food joints along Newton Circus before hitting the sack early to prepare for the big grind.

Rains the past week have made the par-71 course longer but unpredictable bounces are out of play with softened fairways and more receptive greens.

The James Braid-designed Bukit course, built in 1924, is similar to Apo in Davao, Bukidnon?s Del Monte, Calatagan in Batangas and Canlubang in Laguna. It is located in the upscale part of Singapore with each of the more than 7,000 members owning shares of P8 million

Measuring just over 6,800 yards from the championship tees, precision?more than power?will be the premium in the tree-lined course with very few bunkers and cow grass fairways.

Aunzo and Ababa assure the Philippines of two steady players critical in the four-to-play, three-to-count format.

Bayron, whose biggest career win was the DHL title in Canlubang, and Asistio, a first-timer in the RP men?s team, are being counted on to go low because of their length off the tee.