Singapore sends top squad for Open Am

Singapore’s A-team led by the veteran Jerome Ng will arrive today to see action in the Philippine Amateur Open Golf Championship presented by the MVP Sports Foundation starting Monday at Wack Wack’s East layout.

Ng, the Singaporean national team mainstay with an unorthodox swing, looms as one of the foreigners to watch in the 72-hole event serving as the season’s kickoff leg of the PLDT Group Philippine Amateur Tour and the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

A Singaporean who has Filipino roots, Gregory Foo, won the event at Canlubang last year but will not be around this time because of compulsory duties with his country’s military.

His elder brother George, together with Marc Ong and Thomas Tan are the other members of the squad which will be ranged against the best of the Philippines led by national team spearhead Jobim Carlos and former world age-group champion Rupert Zaragosa.

The centerpiece men’s event will have a stringent format with cuts in the first and third rounds.

Only the top 50 scores and ties will advance to play in the second round and only the top 25 will get to play the final 18 holes on Thursday.

The event is also being backed by Pancake House, Titleist, Golf Depot, Pacsports and Autohub, the official transport service provider of the event for the foreign delegates.

Rising stars Andres Saldaña, Basti Lorenzo and Gabriel Manotoc are also entered even as a 54-hole women’s event tees off on Tuesday with such big names as Jayvee Agojo and Daniella Uy entered.

Several Korean expatriates playing out of exclusive clubs all over the country are also entered in the men’s event.