Fil-Am Demi Runas braces for a spirited battle for top honors against the cream of the local pro crop and the best from the Taiwan LPGA Tour in the $80,000 ICTSI Philippine Ladies Masters which fires off tomorrow at the Alabang Country Club in Muntinlupa.
Runas, a former LPGA Tour campaigner, is making her first stint on the local circuit with the 24-year-old shotmaker, who was born and raised in the US and traces her roots to La Union and Cavite, gunning for no less than a crown in the 54-hole championship serving as the final leg of the Taiwan LPGA Tour and the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.
“Being a former LPGA Tour campaigner, she’s good. But the field is tough with so many strong players, especially from the Taiwan LPGA Tour,” said The Country Club coach Bong Lopez, who handles a slew of players vying in the event sponsored by ICTSI and co-organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and TLPGA.
The 5-6 Runas rallied from No. 15 to No. 9 with a strong finish in the last tournament of the Symetra Tour to earn an LPGA card for 2015 although it was not the rookie season she had wanted it to be, she still hoped her struggles would help her toughen up in future tournaments.
That includes this week’s event where she will be pitted against the likes of Korean Lee Jeong Hwa, who swept the first two legs of the Taiwan LPGA and ICTSI LPGT at Splendido and Southwoods last March.