Shootout looms as ICTSI Pueblo golf gets going

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines — From the tight Apo to the mountaintop Del Monte course, the men of the Philippine Golf Tour shift the battleground to the rolling Pueblo De Oro layout beginning today, all geared up for a four-day test of power and putting in the ICTSI Pueblo De Oro Championship here.

Jobim Carlos rallied to win by four on an eight-under 280 total at the start of the circuit’s Mindanao swing two weeks ago in Davao then Nicolas Paez broke through with a 10-under effort for a two-shot victory in Bukidnon.

Observers note a tighter, fiercer finish this time with majority of the stellar international field coming into the P3 million event sponsored by ICTSI in top form, most specifically Paez, who exudes confidence and enjoys some kind of momentum following his breakthrough triumph over the weekend.

“I’ll play aggressive,” said the power-hitting Paez, who spiked his Del Monte romp with three eagles in the first three rounds. “If I can easily shoot an eagle at Del Monte, I’ll try to do it again here (at Pueblo).”

The 29-year-old Venezuelan-American said the course is good with not so many hazards and bunkers but with deep ravines and narrow, tree-lined fairways and unpredictable surface.

“The course is good and my confidence is high. So I think my chances for back-to-back is possible,” added Paez, who drew Carlos and Englishman Joshua Grenville-Wood in the featured 7:20 a.m. flight on No. 1.