Country Club Invitational slated jan. 25 in laguna

THE COUNTRY CLUB Invitational, considered to be the country’s most prestigious golfing championship, tees off on Jan. 25 with a whopping total prize of P4.5 million, which will be battled over by a select 36-player field over at the tough TCC layout in Laguna.

Angelo Que nipped Marvin Dumandan by one to nail last year’s crown and record the first back-to-back victory in the four-day championship that has become the most keenly awaited tournament among the professionals and amateurs alike for its prestige and magnitude.

Que will be seeking to set another mark but a host of others will be out to foil his three-peat bid, including the other winners of the event, which also serves as the kick-off of the new golfing season.

There is 2006 and 2008 champion Juvic Pagunsan, who will be hard-pressed to validate his status as Asia’s No. 1 after copping the Order of Merit crown in last year’s Asian Tour with a runner-up finish in the rich Singapore Open. The smooth-swinging Pagunsan also won the Players’ Player of the Year award in the region’s premier circuit and topped the OOM derby in the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour on the strength of four-leg victories.

Artemio Murakami, winner in 2009, is also gearing up for a big comeback for a crack at the second crown along with inaugural champion Cassius Casas (2003) and fellow former winners Tony Lascuna (2004) and Jerome Delariarte (2005).

The top 36 players in last year’s OOM of the ICTSI-PGT are vying for the top P1.4-million purse. The list includes Elmer Salvador, winner of the OOM title in the inaugural staging of the ICTSI-PGT who finished second to Pagunsan last year, Jhonnel Ababa, a three-leg winner last season, 2010 OOM champion Jay Bayron, Rufino Bayron, Mhark Fernando, Elmer Saban, Richard Sinfuego and Robert Pactolerin.  Correspondent Jonas Panerio