Eight of the top 15 players in the current Philippine Golf Tour Asia Order of Merit ranking see action together with the brightest of the Taiwan PGA when the Daan Taiwan Open tees off on Thursday at CCK Golf Club in Taichung.
The $100,000 championship is the first PGT Asia-sanctioned tournament abroad, highlighting its steady rise as one of the emerging circuits in the region.
Jay Bayron, the veteran from Davao, is the lone Filipino playing in the full 144-strong field.
The multi-titled Tony Lascuña was eligible to play but begged off at the last-minute because of a hand injury, while Angelo Que and Juvic Pagunsan are both committed to play in the Japan PGA also this week.
Miguel Tabuena, the first PGTA OOM winner in 2017, is competing in the European Tour in Denmark.
It is actually the first of two PGT Asia events to be played in Taiwan with the Nan Pao TPGA Open scheduled on Sept. 26-29 at Nan Pao Golf Club in Tainan City.