P1M ICTSI Apo golf opens tomorrow

JHONNEL Ababa is aiming to join the short list of golfers that have scored consecutive wins on the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour as he competes against a crack field of local talents in the P1 million ICTSI Apo Golf Invitational which unfolds tomorrow at the Apo layout in Davao.

Unlike in his playoff victory over fellow Davaoeño Jay Bayron in the ICTSI Iloilo Golf Challenge last month, the former national team mainstay faces overwhelming odds this week in terms of challenge and pressure from the revered men on the tour.

While the par-72 course, where he honed his talent and skills, would be to his liking, the same could not be said of the 85-player field which features the cream of the crop, some were absent when he scored a breakthrough win in Iloilo.

Juvic Pagunsan, Angelo Que, Frankie Minoza and Miguel Tabuena will join the hunt for the top P200,000 purse in the eighth leg of the ICTSI-PGT, completing a rare gathering of the country’s top guns and rising stars in the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.

Pagunsan, for one, is out to erase his own record — become the first player to defend a leg title three straight times. Although he had a forgettable stint at home in the ICTSI Negros Occidental in Bacolod, where he collapsed in the final round, the smooth swinging shotmaker is expected to re-stamp his class at Apo.

From Davao, action shifts to Bukidnon on Aug. 17-19 for the ICTSI Del Monte Championship where Casas snatched the victory when Pagunsan and two others were disqualified on a final hole infraction. Cebu will host the next leg on Aug. 31-Sept. 3 for the ICTSI Aboitiz Invitational, a 72-hole championship that also serves as a leg of the Asian Development Tour.  /Correspondent Jonas Panerio