Anybody’s race in Solaire Open starting Thursday

MANILA, Philippines — Some of the big names in the $300,000 Solaire Open have mixed reactions of their chances in the second leg of the Asian Tour that unfolds Thursday at the windy The Country Club course in Canlubang, Laguna.

“The golf course suits me perfectly—it’s long and it’s wide,” Berry Henson, the American who won the Philippine Open in 2011, told the Inquirer on the eve of the tournament.

“Whoever bombs it (from the tee) the longest and can hole some putts will win,” added Benson, who said that the only problem he sees with the layout is that he hasn’t had the privilege of playing as many pin placements as possible.

“It’s going to be tough, because it is very long,” defending champion Lin Wen-tang of Chinese-Taipei said through an interpreter during the event’s formal launch Wednesday at the Eclipse Room of the Solaire Resort and Casino.

“It will basically be a survival test for me,” added Lin, who admitted to be shorter off the tees compared with Henson and notable Filipino long hitters like Angelo Que and Frankie Miñoza.

Henson said that Que, Miñoza and the other Filipinos have a distinct advantage because they have played various pin positions of the layout over the years.

Miñoza, though, said that being a 54-year-old, “my chances (of winning) are getting smaller. But I will just come out there and play my game.”

Que has won the most tournaments by any Filipino in the field at the exclusive layout designed by American Tom Weiscopf—having ruled the rich The Country Club Invitational three times already while finishing second once.

“I agree with Berry,” Que said. “The long hitters will definitely have an advantage. And having said that, I think the key to anyone winning this week would have to be their putting.”

A crack foreign field that also has 2012 Open champion Mardan Mamat of Singapore and a host of Thais led by former two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Thaworn Wiratchant are in the field, making it a wide-open chase.