ICTSI Players tourney gets going at compact Southlinks

MANILA, Philippines - The tight Southlinks layout looms as a true test of shotmaking and accuracy as the men of the tour kicks off their bid in the P3.5 million ICTSI Tournament Players’ Championship today in Las Piñas.

The fancied bets hint at keeping their drivers in their respective bags and make their irons busy through all four days of the championship at the 7,002-yard course, a relatively short layout by the pros’ standards but tipped to bring out the best – or the worst – from the 78-player starting field with its tight fairways and unpredictable putting surface, especially if the wind come into play.

“The course is short but has narrow fairways so we’ll be using just a 3-iron or 3-wood off the mound,” said Clyde Mondilla, chasing a second straight victory after beating Cassius Casas and three others for his breakthrough win in Canlubang last month.

Casas said emphasis will be on precision and course management while stressing the need to come up with a strong start for the momentum and confidence in what promises to be a wide-open battle for the top P650,000 purse in the final leg of the 16-stage circuit sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

“It’s so risky to use the driver here but it requires accuracy off an iron tee-shot to be able to set up birdie opportunities,” said Casas, raring to redeem himself from his Cangolf setback.

“This is an exciting tournament. The course, although shorter by our standard, remains tough with unreceptive greens,” said Zanie Boy Gialon, who snapped a two-year title spell with a victory in the rain-shortened ICTSI Royal Northwoods last September.

But while majority would go for irons and 5- or 3-wood off the tee, Arnold Villacencio said he’d still be relying on his trusted driver on some holes, especially on the par-5s, as he launches his bid for a second win in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

“The course is short but I’ll still use my driver when needed,” said Villacencio, confident of nailing a second win after nipping Miguel Tabuena in sudden death to reign at ICTSI Summit last October.

Meanwhile, Mars Pucay towed his team composed of Nani Almeda, Pablo Soon and Luis De Maria to the pro-am victory with a 21-under 123 aggregate, beating Mhark Fernando and teammates Manny Ponce, Ryan Abdon and Bobby Gonzalez by five.