Antonio Lascuña goes for back-to-back titles at ICTSI Caliraya. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
A stacked, foreign-flavored men’s field and undoubtedly the best ladies cast assembled in years in the Philippine Golf Tour tee off on Tuesday in the ICTSI Caliraya Springs Championships with the defending men’s champion, Antonio Lascuña, emphasizing the importance of blasting out of the gates hard.
“I think it’s a matter of who gets out to the best start,” Lascuña said in Filipino after playing in the pro-am on Monday.
“I prepared hard for the chance to win this in successive years and I just hope I get the job done this week.”This will be the third stop of the 10-leg circuit, and Guido van der Valk of The Netherlands, who finished second in the first two legs, believes that no one owns an advantage at the well-manicured layout in Cavinti in Laguna.
READ: Van der Valk takes good form to ICSTI Caliraya leg
“Caliraya is a little bit of a combination of the two courses we played in Davao,” he said. “I think Caliraya is more of a second shot course, so if I can get my green reading correct, it should be a nice week for me.”
Jonel Ababa, the champion at Apo Golf, is also entered together with the long-hitting Clyde Mondilla and former Philippine Open champion Angelo Que. Collin Wheeler of the United States and South Korea’s Gwon Minwook, who tied for fifth at Apo, lead the foreign challenge
Meanwhile, Princess Superal and defending champion Pauline del Rosario make rare appearances in the circuit by signing up for the 54-hole ladies championship.The trio is on a break from commitments overseas and will add star power to the field, with Del Rosario taking fine form here, having finished in the Top 10 of the IOA Golf Classic of the Epson Tour in the United States.
“I’m just trying to bring that confidence and momentum moving forward,” said Del Rosario, who is shooting for a top 15 finish at the end of the Epson season for an LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) card. “If I’m home, I will definitely look forward to playing local events.”