Asian Tour hikes RP Open purse

The Philippine Open, originally set this week as the kickoff leg of the 2007 season of the Asian Tour, will now be played Feb. 1-4 with the country’s top players slugging it out with the region’s best at Wack Wack east course.

The organizing Asian Tour has added $100,000 to the total prize money, thus making the event a $300,000 tournament, which will now serve as the third leg of the circuit after the Pakistan Open on Jan. 18-21 in Karachi and the Qatar Masters on Jan. 25-28 in Doha.

"The Philippine Open will go ahead from Feb. 1-4," said Asian Tour’s director of Tour Development Patrick Young. "The prize money will increase by $100,000 to make the total purse $300,000."

Due to lack of sponsors and to iron out some details of the event, the Asian Tour delayed the staging of the RP Open, the country’s premier golfing event and Asia’s first golf championship. But concerted efforts put in over the past week by the men behind the event — National Golf Association of the Philippines’ (NGAP) president Leandro Mendoza, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and his foundation, Wack Wack’s chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., ICTSI’s Enrique Razon and Young — have been instrumental in the quick return of the event.

"We are delighted to announce that the Philippine Open will be held during the first week of February with a substantial increase of 50 percent in the total prize money," said Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han.

He added: "I would like to salute the efforts of Sec. Mendoza, the First Gentleman, the club’s chairman, Mr. Razon and Mr. Young for working together in the common goal of ensuring the Philippine Open would be staged without further delays."

Han said that the Asian Tour is fully confident and committed to ensure that the staging of the RP Open will be a highly successful affair where Asia’s best players will shoot for glory in one of the region’s most prestigious national Opens.

Scott Strange heads the star-studded field with the Aussie bet eyeing a second straight championship after running away with last year’s crown. He won by five strokes on an eight-under aggregate of 280, beating Korean Park Jun-won.

But with a slew of players out to vie for top honors, a successful campaign will not come easy for Strange, who will be trying to become the next player to defend the RP Open crown after Celestino Tugot did the trick four years in row from 1955 to 1958.

Homegrown talents Juvic Pagunsan, Asian Tour leg winner Angelo Que, former RP Open champions Gerald Rosales, Cassius Casas and Robert Pactolerin will lead the local charge in the event.

The 2007 Asian Tour is offering a minimum 29 tournaments and an all-time high of $26 million in total prize money this season. — Dante Navarro