ICTSI Tour aces vying at Splendido

A STAR-STUDDED cast is seeing action in the P1-million ICTSI Splendido Classic in Tagaytay that tees off next week, with Antonio Lascuña seeking a second straight victory and a bigger Order of Merit lead.

After ruling the Southwoods stop at the Legends course last month with a 21-under tally, Lascuña comes into the 54-hole Splendido tournament as the proverbial favorite.

Former Philippine Open champion Elmer Salvador, the Netherlands’ Guido Van Der Valk, Mars Pucay and Miguel Tabuena are also in the field.

Lascuña has been the most dominant force in the Tour since winning the Calatagan leg in Batangas last May, racking up five straight runner-up finishes after that before winning the P2.5-million Southwoods event.

Salvador is another consistent performer of late. He won the Aboitiz Invitational in Cebu for the second straight year last August.

Splendido can very well yield low scores next week, especially if the winds don’t blow.

Van Der Valk, who finished second to Salvador in the 2009 PH Open at Malarayat, knows what it takes to win at Splendido after topping the Qualifying tournament there this season.

The event serves as the 12th leg of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour with Lascuña leading the OOM race with P1,682,332 in earnings.

Tabuena, whose breakthrough win as a pro came last year at Splendido, is running second with P1,456,527 in winnings.  Musong R. Castillo