Final stop of ICTSI golf series on today at Wack Wack

IT IS only fitting that the final stop on the local professional tour have the country’s top golfer as the reigning Asia Tour No. 1 player, Juvic Pagunsan, completed the stellar cast by confirming his participation in the event which kicks off today at the Wack Wack’s East Course.

Pagunsan is seeking to end a winless season here and abroad although the 34-year-old ace shotmaker came through with a pair of runner-up finishes in the year about to end, including in the Japan Open on the Japan PGA Tour and in the Queen’s Cup of the Asian Tour. He also had three fourth-place finishes.

That makes the upcoming event doubly important for the title-hungry Pagunsan, who will be up against the best and upcoming stars of local pro golf, including ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit frontrunner Tony Lascuna.

The next four players in the OOM race – Elmer Salvador, Zanie Boy Gialon, Miguel Tabuena and Jay Bayron, who won this year’s OOM crown on the Asian Development Tour – are also in the fold, ensuring a battle royale in the 72-hole championship closing out the 15-stage circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

Pagunsan won four PGT legs last year to run away with the OOM crown, capping a sterling season with a runner-up finish in the Singapore Open that netted him the coveted Asian Tour’s top plum. But in five times that he saw action on the local circuit this year, Pagunsan could only post a best joint seventh finish at ICTSI Eastridge last June before joining the lucrative Japan PGA circuit. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio