RUPERT Zaragosa, the pint-sized wonder out of Canlubang, tries to maximize his familiarity with the North layout and extend his reign in the 21st W Express RVF Cup Amateur Championship starting Feb. 9 in Laguna.
Zaragosa, the 19-year-old many-time national champion, will be gunning to rule this event, held in honor of the late golf patron Rod Feliciano, for the third straight year.
A crack international field led by Korean expatriates will be trying to foil Zaragosa’s bid in the centerpiece 72-hole men’s championship even as Harmie Constantino shoots for another feather in her cap in the 54-hole women’s division unfolding the next day.
Yuka Saso, a Filipino-Japanese, is tipped to crowd Constantino, the reigning national titlist, for the crown.
Zaragosa is not enjoying the greatest of forms, finishing seventh in the Philippine Am Stroke play championship won by Jobim Carlos two weeks ago.
The event is being organized by the National Golf Association of the Philippines as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour and sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, PLDT and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. and Canlubang Golf and Country Club.
Zaragosa won this event in memorable fashion over Andres Saldana in 2014, before returning last year to thwart Kim In-jae of South Korea. Musong R. Castillo