Premium will be on shotmaking as the Philippine Golf Tour Asia’s long hitters gear up for four days of power duel in the $100,000 Summit Point World 18 Challenge which gets going today in Lipa, Batangas.
It could also be a test of mental toughness as the men of the tour battle it out in wet and windy conditions spawned by Typhoon Rosita, making the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed layout, which features some of the best holes one can find anywhere in the world, softer and longer than its 7017 yardage.
It could also boil down to putting in the final day with the course’s last line of defense tipped to challenge even the steadiest players in the stellar cast.
Clyde Mondilla strung up a 17-under 271 card at Summit Point Club to dominate the closing event of last year’s PGT that also served as his coronation as Order of Merit champion with the same kind of scoring expected given the form of the crack international field following a series of tournaments – in the just concluded PGT and the ongoing PGT Asia.
James Ryan Lam, for one, is brimming with confidence coming into the event, having snapped a near-decade long search for a breakthrough with a victory in last week’s PGTA CAT Open, where he outclassed the elite field at the tight, hazard-laden Luisita layout with superb short game and exceptional putting.
But at Summit Point, emphasis will be on power although its sloping fairways, big bunkers and deceptive greens are expected to challenge the best players in the fold.
They include American Josh Salah, who rallied to finish second to Lam last week, along with the rest of the top 10 finishers, led by Jobim Carlos, Ira Alido, Jhonnel Ababa, Elmer Salvador, Seung Jae Maeng of the US, Charles Hong, Justin Quiban and Tarik Can, also of the US.
