FRESH from their successful team-up in the National Doubles, Bianca Pagdanganan and Jed Dy seek individual honors this time as they lead the international field in the Philippine Amateur Open Golf Championship starting on Thursday at Riviera’s Langer course in Cavite.
While Pagdanganan, 21, is one of the top favorites in the 72-hole stroke play championship, the 15-year-old Dy faces tall odds in the men’s side featuring the country’s leading players headed by Aidric Chan, Carl Corpus, Weiwei Gao, Miguel Ilas, Peter Po, Paolo Wong and Kristoffer Arevalo.
Koreans topped last year’s staging of the annual event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines and serving as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour with Kim Joo Hyung nipping Luis Castro by one and Hwang Min-jeong scoring a record 16-shot romp over compatriot Kim Hee Ji.
The locals are raring to regain the crown. Jobim Carlos, now a Philippine Golf Tour winner, and Harmie Constantino topped the event in 2016.
Pagdanganan looks to rule the field that includes Japan’s Tae Saito, Ayumi Takahashi and Riko Nagai, Korea’s Kim Seo Yun, Lee Yeonseo and Kim, Malaysia’s Natasha Oon and Eliza Kho, Linette Chua, Inez Ng, Linna Loh and Callista Chen of Singapore.
Also seeing action are Liam Cully and Leo Connolly from Ireland, Ricardo Terlajo from Guam, Japan’s Atsushi Ueda, Kyosuke and Gen Nagai, Malaysia’s Ying Hock Hong and Marcus Chuen and Frank Schneider of the Netherlands.
Singapore is also fielding in six players in the event, including Andre Chong and Brandon Han, while Thailand will pin its hopes on Vanchai Luangnitikul and Nopparat Panichphol.
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