PRESS RELEASE
The Asian Development Tour re-affirms its commitment to boost local golf as it sanctions two $60,000 ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour events, beginning with the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational on April 15-18 at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Gen. Trias, Cavite.
Reigning ADT Order of Merit titlist Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand and ADT leg winners James Byrne of Scotland, American James Bowen, Mitsuhiko Hashizume of Japan, and Malaysians Wilson Choo and Arie Irawan head the crack roster of foreign players slugging it out with the local aces in the 72-hole championship also serving as the third leg of the ICTSI PGT.
Three-time PGT OOM winner Tony Lascuña, who notched his first ADT win in the Aboitiz Invitational last year, will spearhead the local challenge along with ADT leg champions Elmer Salvador and brothers Jay and Rufino Bayron and top guns Angelo Que and Miguel Tabuena, who ruled the first two legs of this year’s ICTSI PGT.
The ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic, meanwhile, will cap the two-week ADT swing on April 22-25 with Charles Hong seeking to make it two-in-row after ruling the all-local event last year.
The Asian Tour farm circuit has been a chief backer of the local circuit sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. with the Filipino players topping the three ADT-sanctioned events here last year, including Salvador (Riviera Classic) and Rufino Bayron (Orchard Golf Championship).
Also entered in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational organized by the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., are Thais Phachara Khongwatmai and Panuwat Muenlek, Rizal Amin of Malaysia, Niall Turner of Ireland, American Brett Munson, a former Philippine Open winner, Thai ace Wisut Artjanawat, Nils Floren of Sweden, Singapore’s Koh Deng Shan, Lam Chih Bing, Choo Tze Huang and Quincy Quek and Korean Jinwoo Park.
Joining Lascuña and company in the local roster are Ferdie Aunzo, Clyde Mondilla, Cassius Casas, Orlan Sumcad, Frankie Minoza, Dante Becierra, Marvin Dumandan, Arnold Villacencio and Elmer Saban.
Others expected to see action in the event backed by Aboitiz, Srixon, Callaway, Empire Golf and Sports Shop, Nike Golf, TaylorMade, Custom Clubmakers, Sharp, Omnisource and Silicon Computer and Telecoms, Inc., are the top foreign players on the PGT, including Koreans Woo Seong Bin, Seongki Lee, Gyuha Park and Anthony Kim, Japanese Toru Nakajima and Dutch Guido Van der Valk.
Meanwhile, action in the ICTSI Ladies PGT resumes Wednesday (April 8) with the staging of the ICTSI Splendido Ladies Invitational with Thai Amolkan Phalajivin eyeing a repeat over a top local field headed by back-to-back OOM winner Cyna Rodriguez at Splendido Taal Golf Club in Tagaytay.
Also in the fold are Jayvie Agojo, Chihiro Ikeda, Sarah Ababa, Anya Tanpinco and Lovelynn Guioguio along with the leading amateurs from the ICTSI-The Country Club team, headed by young Yuka Saso, Annika Cedo, Sam Green, and Koreans Kim So Un, Hwang Min Jeong and Park Hyo Jin.
