Wide-open race seen in local tour’s first-ever Lakewood stop

A stacked field led by the seasoned trio of Jonel Ababa, Clyde Mondilla and Antonio Lascuña is favored when the Philippine Golf Tour makes its first-ever stop in Nueva Ecija for the ICTSI Lakewood Championship, which practically no one has knowledge of, starting on Tuesday.

The 72-hole championship is a wide-open fight as the 7,049-yard, bunker-laden layout that also has 16 man-made water hazards presents a challenge that will be seen for the first time, and Lascuña said there is another thing the field has to deal with.

“It’s super hot out here,” Lascuña told the Inquirer over the phone after arriving late afternoon of Sunday. “I had a brief look of the course and it looked pretty flat from where I stood. But that’s the only thing I know.

“Tomorrow (Monday, during the pro-am), I will introduce myself to the course,” he said with a laugh as he seeks a first win following his The Country Club triumph earlier in the year.

Angelo Que, who won the PH Masters at Villamor two weeks ago, and joint third placer LJ Go have commitments overseas and won’t play, even as South Korea’s Hyun Ho Rho takes another shot at a breakthrough pro win.

Ryan Monsalve, the leader after two rounds at Villamor, is also entered together with fellow rookie Aidric Chan. The duo out of Manila Southwoods finished well inside the top 10 in Pasay and looks ripe to win. INQ