Former Asian Tour Order of Merit winners Sihwan Kim of the US and Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond banner the formidable foreign charge in the $500,000 (P29 million) revival of the Philippine Open that gets off the ground in a week's time at the Manila Southwoods' Masters layout.
Kim and Janewattananond have won the OOM at one time in their careers and are listed as two of the favorites in the 72-hole championship along with bright Filipino hopes Miguel Tabuena and ex-champion Angelo Que as Asia's oldest national championship gets a reboot after a five-year absence starting Thursday next week.
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Tabuena finished seventh in the OOM last year, playing 19 total events. The last of his three Asian Tour wins came at Delhi Golf Club in India in 2023 when he rallied from six shots down at the start of the final round by shooting a seven-under-par 65 to beat hometown bet Rashid Khan by a shot.
Janewattananond, who, in an impressive 2020 season, was ranked 38th in the world, is a frequent Philippine visitor since turning pro as a 15-year-old in 2010.
The Thai juggernaut already has 11 Asian Tour wins - tied for ninth most all-time - aside from experience playing on the US PGA Tour, the DP World Tour in Europe, and the lucrative Japan Tour before having stints in all of golf's four majors, with his best finish being a tie for 14th place at the 2019 PGA Championship.
"It's going to be a wide-open Open," Que, the 2008 champion at Wack Wack, said with a smile. "A lot of good players are coming over and there will be a lot of them with legitimate chances to win."
Kim has two wins to his credit, all of them in the 2022 season when he won his OOM title. He also joined the LIV Golf League that year, stayed until the end of 2023 before failing to make a team last year.
Que, meanwhile, has been cramming to give himself the best shot he can at winning the event for a second time.
Winning score at 20-under?
"It's going to be a tough tournament, especially if the winds blow," the 46-year-old said. "If it's windy on Open week, we can see something like 15-under winning it. If it's calm, then we are looking at 20-under or maybe more."
Meanwhile, the host club completed its 18-hole qualifying tournament on Sunday, with former junior world champion Krsitoffer Arevalo, Leandro Bagtas and Gab Manotoc advancing to the main draw.
The 24-player field was also made to play the Jack Nicklaus-created gem as a par-70 for the first time, with Nos. 4 and 15 playing as long par-4s where a lot of players in the field, including Arevalo, who shot a 66, using 3-wood for his second shot at No. 4.
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