Antonio Lascuna. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Philippine Golf Tour returns to Valley Golf’s South course for the first time in nine years with a fully loaded roster led by the returning Antonio Lascuña shooting for a personal treble and Jonel Ababa, the newly-crowned Philippine Masters champion, eyeing back-to-back titles.
After finishing seventh in a tournament in Taiwan, Lascuña has kept himself busy the past week preparing for all kinds of shots the up-and-down, bending Valley South could offer as he comes into the 72-hole championship basically the defending champion after ruling the last staging in 2014.
“I remember I also won the year before,” Lascuña told the Inquirer in Filipino during practice at Manila Southwoods. “The year before I beat Juvic (Pagunsan) in a playoff, so basically, I will be shooting to win it a third straight time. And that is a big thing for me.”
No other player in the field next week is playing as consistently as Lascuña and the ace from Davao is not letting his guard down, especially with Ababa ruling the Masters at tough-as-nails Villamor.
“Like all demanding courses, Valley requires precision off the tees,” Lascuña explained. “Missing the fairways will penalize you.”