Masters: A brutal par-70 test during Philippines Open

MANILA, Philippines — The real battle is still a week away, but the work has already begun at the Masters.

Long before the foreign armada lands, Filipino hopefuls are already grinding it out, learning every nook and cranny of the dreaded Jack Nicklaus masterpiece that will host the 108th Philippine Open next week.

The mission is clear – tame the beast before the beast tames you.

Young guns Carl Corpus and Justin Quiban braved the scorching Monday afternoon heat to get a feel of the course that will stage Asia’s oldest national open, now richer than ever with a $1 million prize fund – roughly P64 million – presented by the Philippine Sports Commission.

For Corpus, who just came off his second straight Asian Games tour of duty, the message is unmistakable: this Masters will bite even harder than last year.

“I think it would be similar to last year,” said Corpus. “They took away two scoring holes, so it won’t be that much of a scoring course next week.”

He was referring to Nos. 4 and 15, once friendly par-5s for members and now transformed into long, demanding par-4s, turning the Masters into a brutal par-70 test. Over 72 holes, that’s eight strokes less to play with – eight strokes that could spell the difference between triumph and heartbreak.

Last year, the Masters showed its teeth. Frenchman Julien Sale needed a superb 11-under 269 to win – one of the lowest winning numbers on the Asian Tour – and that was with the course giving a little more.

Not this time.

“You go three-under a day and I think you’ll be good. You’ll contend,” said Quiban, who gave a good account of himself last year, finishing in a tie for 16th at 276 after cards of 73-64-69-70. “It’s still a tough course because of the additional roughs. Hitting approaches in these roughs will be difficult to judge.”