Tougher Phl Open test looms at WW East

MANILA, Philippines - The 150-player strong ICTSI-Philippine Open field braces for a “tough” challenge at the newly refurbished Wack Wack’s East with its tricky, tight layout made more daunting by its longer yardage and undulating putting surface.

“Wack Wack East has changed a lot especially the fairways and the greens. It’s tough to play but I’m looking forward to playing well as winning the ICTSI Philippine Open is a big part of my goal,” said Juvic Pagunsan, a multi-titled player chasing his first Phl Open crown.

Pagunsan, the former Asian Tour top rookie, will be among the 33 Filipinos battling it out with 110 foreign players for top honors in the $300,000 event, which is making its return to the Asian Tour fold after a two-year hiatus, unfolding Thursday.

“It’s going to be really tough. The course was already tricky before the upgrading works but now, they’ve made it a lot longer and it will play extra tough at the ICTSI Philippine Open,” said Artemio Murakami.

“You will need to be very patient on the golf course. If you lose your patience, it’ll eat you up. So, I’ll be trying to take it one step at a time,” said Murakami, who ruled last year’s all-peso Phl Open at Valley.

The field gets to test the layout for the last time in today’s traditional pro-am tournament which features the leading pros and officials and guests of the event’s chief backers, led by presentor International Container Terminal Services, Inc. The other sponsors of the tournament, held under the auspices of the National Golf Association, are San Miguel Corp., Globe Telecom, Lexus, HSBC, Splash Corporation and Ayala Land Premier with Srixon, Ricoh, BlackBerry, Inetol, Motorola, Label 5 and Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria as supporters.

Angelo Que, who beat Malaysian ace Danny Chia in the last Open at Wack Wack in 2008, said the course demands local knowledge and precision. “But I expect high scores especially if the wind comes into play,” he said.

Wack Wack president Philip Ella Juico said the par-72 layout, long considered as the home of the Phl Open which last hosted the premier event in 2008, now measures up to 7,222 yards, making it a lot longer and tougher for the field which features 25 winners of the Asian Tour. “Putting will also be the key here,” said Juico.

“Since the speed of the surface varies from one hole to another, the ball will be more difficult to handle and control.” Murakami said that Wack Wack East’s par-3, 191-yards 17th hole, which will be used as the eighth in the tournament proper, will yet pose the biggest danger to his quest for a repeat victory. Dubbed as one of the toughest holes in Asia, the hole has claimed many victims, including Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang who stumbled to a disastrous 12 while in contention in the third round of the fabled event’s 2008 edition.