Casas, Rosales banner RP bid in J Walker Classic

Reigning Philippine Open champion Cassius Casas and last year’s RP Open winner Gerald Rosales get the rare chance to play against the best players in the world when they compete in the Johnnie Walker Classic Jan. 24-27 at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Perth, Australia.

The $1 million event, which could rival the world’s four major championships in terms of prize money and participation, will serve as a fitting venue for IMG-backed Casas and Rosales to showcase their shotmaking skills against the likes of US Open champion Retief Goosen and former JW Classic winners Ernie Els and Michael Campbell.

The early list of players seeing action in the event, which has gained prestige and popularity through the years, includes American Notah Begay, Sergio Garcia of Spain, Scot Colin Montgomerie, Thomas Bjorn, Lee Westwood and Nick Faldo.

Casas never had a good crack at the JW Classic crown in a long, long time, either he was overwhelmed by the opposition or simply got clobbered by them. In fact, he has never kept track of his best finish in the prestigious event although he had a lucrative debut as a pro when he won $150,000 in a Johnnie Walker Skins Game at Wack Wack in 1993.

But the 34-year-old dusky shotmaker from Davao has vowed to dish out his very best in the four-day championship where he hopes to come up with a creditable performance in a bid to further boost his confidence in time for his campaign in the US Buy.Com Tour. Casas earned a spot in the elite cast through IMG (International Management Group), which manages his career as well as that of Rosales.

Rosales, on the other hand, tries to make the most out of his first-time stint in a championship of this magnitude although hopes are high for the reed-thin shotmaker to overcome the challenge owing to his solid campaign in the Asian PGA Tour last year. He emerged the top Filipino player at 32nd place in last year’s APGA Order of Merit ranking, which gained him a berth in this year’s JW Classic.

A starting field of 156, the strongest in years, will clash in the JW Classic, which offers $199,000 to the winner. The event is jointly sanctioned by the Australian, European and Asian PGA Tours. Live or delayed coverage of the JW Classic, which the country hosted in 1995 at The Orchard, will also be seen in over 60 countries worldwide, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, South Africa, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea.

One hundred twenty players will come from the Australasian and European Tours and 28 from the Asian PGA Tour while eight will be specially invited players.

Owned by the Guinness UDV and IMG and staged by IMG with support from the West Australian government through Events Corp., the JW Classic will receive five hours live TV coverage on all four days of its staging.