Unique pro-am ushers in Casino RP Open

A unique Pro-Am tomorrow will kick off the much awaited Casino Filipino 87th Philippine Open at Wack Wack East course.

Sixty professionals will be teamed up with 180 amateurs in the 18-hole affair featuring 60 teams.

"Our main aim is to make the tournament loaded with fun while we give our professionals the chance to really sample the course," said Gen. Antonio Abaya of Fortune Tobacco, who is co-chair of the Pro-Am with Vicente "Enteng" Santos.

Participants will be treated to a raffle worth P400,000 Wednesday evening starting at 6 o’clock at the Ballrooms A and B of the plush Wack Wack Clubhouse.

The best score in each hole of every four-man team will count in the competition, a prelude to the Casino Filipino Open presented by San Miguel Corporation and backed principally by Mitsubishi.

The fabled RP Open, Asia’s oldest professional golf tournament, will begin on Thursday and end on Sunday.

The first shotgun tee off tomorrow will be at 6:30 a.m. The second set of 30 teams will be flagged off at 12 noon.

"We decided on having two tee off times in order to ensure good traffic on the course," said Andy Dumlao, chief coordinator of Pro-Am.

Rod Feliciano, president of the organizing National Golf Association of the Philippines, will be among those teeing off tomorrow together with tournament executive committee co-chair Ben Abalos, tournament committee chair Danny Pizarro, Wack Wack general manager SP Malbarosa, and organizing committee chair Benny Gopez.

Of the 60 pros entered, 40 are foreigners.

"We are on course," said Pizarro. Like last year’s Open, we hope to score another big one this year-if not improve on the 86th Open."