OOM title very much up for grabs in PH Open

John Caitlin, here rais- Caitlin, here raising his arms in triumph his arms in triumph in Hong Kong, will be a Hong Kong, will be a player to watch in the to watch in the Philippine Philippine Open. —ASIAN TOUR PHOTO

The 2026 Order of Merit title will be up for grabs starting next week at the Masters course of the Manila Southwoods in Carmona, Cavite, when the 108th Philippine Open presented by the Philippine Sports Commission tees off.

Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert holds a slim lead over Travis Smyth of Australia, and with 780 points due to the winner of the $1-million (around P64 million) event, former OOM champs John Catlin and Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand are still very much in the running.

The American Catlin is one of the biggest stars expected to play, having won six national opens in his career.

“You know, anytime you can win a national open, I think it just adds a little bit of extra prestige,” Catlin, who has victories in Australia, England, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Ireland, said after ruling the International Series’ Hong Kong leg last May.

“Anytime you can win a national open is just incredible.”

Ian Snyman of South Africa is shooting to end the season with the second win of his career after he had broken through in Taiwan last May.

Taichi Kho of Hong Kong is running fifth behind Catlin, and the 2023 Rookie of the Year is also looking for his second win of the season after ruling the defunct IS stop in Morocco.

Miguel Tabuena is the highest-ranked Filipino in the Open field this month, sitting at No. 447 in the world and looking for a follow-up to his last win on local soil that literally came at his home course of Sta. Elena close to 14 months ago.

A full field of 132 players will answer the starting gun on Nov. 12, with the Philippines to enter as many as 29 players.

The final OOM standings of the local PGT, meanwhile, was released, with Angelo Que, a former Open champion, topping the list for the second straight year.

There will be 12 Filipinos from the PGT OOM that will make the main roster of the Open, as the host country will most likely be able to field a total of 29 players at the most.

Players like Que, who is a former champion, Clyde Mondilla, Sean Ramos and Lloyd Go already have slots because of eligibilities in different categories, giving those outside the top 12 in the OOM a chance to play from Nov. 12 to Nov. 15. INQ