Tony Lascuna, the rich Country Club Invitational winner, and 19 others have been seeded into the tournament proper which will bring the pros to Batangas, Boracay, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon in a test not only of shotmaking skills but endurance as well.
Ramil Bisera, the Julio Cup champ, is among 86 entrants vying for berths in the Visayas-Mindanao joust and the top purse of P500,000. Despite his breakthrough win in the Julio Cup, also at Villamor, a couple of months back, Bisera is not in the top 20, as the organizers have based the rankings in the 2003 Order of Merit.
The round today will not only serve as the first 18-hole score to be carried over to the Malarayat (Lipa, Batangas), Fairways and Blue Water (Boracay), Marapara (Bacolod), Pueblo de Oro (Cagayan de Oro) and Del Monte (Bukidnon) legs, it will also be used to determine the next 20 entries.
The field travels to Lipa on July 26 before heading to Boracay that night to play at the Fairways and Blue Water layout the following day. The field takes a break on the 28th, as it travels to Bacolod before playing the fourth round at the Marapara.
The Pueblo de Oro course in Cagayan de Oro will be the site of the fifth round, while the final 18 will be played at the tough Del Monte course in Bukidnon on the 31st.
The government’s roll-on/roll-off will be the main means of transport for the entire delegation and the organizing Philippine Ports Authority will take care of all expenses of the players.