ICTSI Tour Calatagan tees off

CALATAGAN, Batangas—A slew of rookies familiar with the layout have the edge when the 14th leg of the ICTSI Tour tees off Wednesday at a rolling Calatagan layout here.

Jonel Ababa, Mark Fernando and Jessie Balasabas, products of the National Caddies Open program which was housed for several years in this course, loom as the top picks in the P1-million event with most of the 69-man field sampling the Robert Trent Jones Jr. creation for the first time.

The trio lived in the golf complex for more than six years until the resignation of general manager and patron Tommy Manotoc to take a role in Philippine team development with the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Ababa is seeking to win for the third time this season, Fernando a second, while Balasabas is gunning to break through after several close calls.

“Familiarity with the course is obviously a plus factor,” Balasabas said in Filipino. “But you still have to have the game in order to score here. And after playing the pro-am, the course is in perfect shape and ideal for scoring.”

“If you can put your drive in the fairway every time, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll get a huge roll,” Fernando said. “And if you can do that, 10-under (for the tournament) seems to be a realistic winning score.”