53rd Putra Cup set at Sherwood Hills

ASSURED of two more big pro golf events this year, the country gets to host the region’s top amateur team event as well with the staging of the 53rd Putra Cup championship at the tough Sherwood Hills in Cavite this June.

Tommy Manotoc, the president of the National Golf Association of the Philippines, and Datuk Zain Yusuf, secretary general of the Asean Golf Federation, jointly made the announcement yesterday for the country’s hosting of what is actually Southeast Asia’s official golf team championship at Resorts World Manila.

“I must congratulate Tommy and the NGAP for a fantastic arrangement (of the venue and its amenities),” said Datuk Zain. “The participating countries will surely enjoy our tournament. We’re all excited to come and play in the Philippines.”

Datuk Zain also congratulated Manotoc, who automatically becomes the AGF president this year as the head of the Putra Cup’s host golf association.

Manotoc, himself a Putra Cup veteran, who has implemented a bold program to discover young talents for the PH team, welcomed the chance to host the event.

The development came just two days after Resorts World Manila and the Asian Tour announced the holding of the $750,000 Resorts World Manila Masters at Manila Southwoods on Nov. 14 to 17. The event will be followed after a week by the $700,000 Philippine Open, set at Wack Wack, under the auspices of the OneAsia Tour.

The Philippines used to dominate the Putra Cup but the emergence of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand has left the country settling for the crumbs in the sport.

Harry Paltongan, president of Sherwood Hills, said the Putra Cup host club will open its doors to practically all projects of the NGAP to help in the development of the sport in the country.

The NGAP has scheduled a series of important tournaments at Sherwood Hills.