CAMONA -The foreign contingent seeing action in the 108th Philippine Open presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will not be lacking in firepower, with former Asian Tour Order of Merit winners John Catlin of the US and Thai Jazz Janewattananond leading the field.
The finale of the Asian Tour's 2026 season will be held from Nov. 12 at the Masters of Manila Southwoods and Catlin and Janewattananond still have shot at winning their second OOM with a victory and take Thailand's Pavit Tangkamolpasert out of No. 1.
Catlin will come to the Philippines seeking to Asia's oldest national open to his six national titles.
"You know, anytime you can win a national open, I think it just adds a little bit of extra prestige," Catlin, who has also won in Australia, England, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Ireland, said after triumphing in Hong Kong last May. "Anytime you can win a national open is just incredible."
Catlin won twice in his OOM year in 2024, and one of them was a victory in Macau where he shot the Asian Tour's first sub-60 score, a 59 in the third round to finish with a 23-under tally before beating David Puig in the first hole of sudden death of the International Series event.
The Asian Tour said the top 20 in the OOM are committed to play the $1 million (around P64 million) championship, as Tangkamolprasert tries to finish No. 1 for the first time in a long career.
Travis Smyth, of Australia is running second with Ian Syman of South Africa shooting to end the season with the second win of his career after he had broken through in Taiwan last May.
Taichi Kho of Hong Kong is running fifth behind Catlin, and the 2023 Rookie of the Year is also looking for his second win of the season after ruling the defunct IS stop in Morocco.
Miguel Tabuena is the highest-ranked Filipino in the Open field this month, sitting at No. 447 in the world and looking for a follow-up to his last win on local soil that literally came at his home course of Sta. Elena close to 14 months ago.
A full field of 132 players will answer the starting gun on Nov. 12, with the Philippines to enter as many as 29 players.
Angelo Que, who ruled the local PGT's OOM after a decent finish in the finale at Apo Golf on Friday, will be one of three former champions entered counting Singapore's Mardan Mamat and Berry Henson of the United States, who beat Jay Bayron at Wack Wack East more than a decade back.
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