National pool big guns out to stop Juvic

BAGUIO — Is Juvic Pagunsan too good for everyone?

The country’s foremost amateur shotmaker is up for a credibility test as Pagunsan takes on fellow national training pool members and a horde of others who dared take the challenge in the third eliminations leg of the Samsung Amateur Tour at the Camp John Hay Golf Club course today.

Maybe unlike the rest of the field that almost resembles a national championship, the stake is just too high for Pagunsan who is coming off several international stints where he proved that he’s already one of the best in Asia.

The championship cast playing for 72 holes is loaded with high-caliber talents the Samsung Amateur Tour never had in its long history.

A tough format that allows only the top 10 players after 36 holes in the final two rounds will put a lot of pressure on the 32 players entered in the tourney also sponsored by Tokyo Tokyo, KZG, Microtel, Coppertone Sport, Srixon, Philippine Airlines as the official carrier, Sunbolt, Rudy Project, C-Lium Fiber and Sports Plus. Media partners are Wave 89.1, Jam 88.3, 89.9, 99.5 RT. 103.5 K-Lite and Killer Bee.

Of the 11 members of the national pool, only two failed to make the trip to Baguio. Erwin Vinluan found no reason to play since he already had won the second leg at the Pueblo de Oro course in Cagayan de Oro recently while another pool member Temyong Murakami is in Japan trying his luck to qualify for the Japan Tour.

Jun Bernis is the defending leg champion but he will have his hands full playing against a bloated championship division cast that also features reigning Samsung Tour grand finals winner Kim Chang Hoi, jungolf sensation Tonton Asistio and a horde of other scratch players.