Reigning Philippine Open champion Steve Lewton of England banners a crack international field seeing action in the $60,000 ICTSI Luisita Championship that tees off this Wednesday in Tarlac.
Lewton, one of the fancied bets in the 72-hole championship, sets his sights on a second straight win on local soil, but over a layout that has a far different character than The Country Club (TCC) in Laguna, where he won the Open.
Luisita, the Robert Trent Jones-designed gem, is a much shorter course compared with TCC, but the tree-lined, hazard-laden layout poses a different challenge as it requires precision shot-making more than length and pinpoint approaches to small greens.
Miguel Tabuena, who won his Open at Luisita in 2015, leads the local contingent in the chase for the $10,500 top purse.
The Philippine Golf Tour would also make stops at Orchard, Manila Southwoods and Villamor in the next three weeks.
Frankie Miñoza, the most revered Filipino pro of all time, and Antonio Lascuña are also entered, along with entries from the US, South Korea, Australia and Japan.