Luisita Golf and Country Club is out to regain its Fil-championship senior title when the 72nd Fil-Am Invitational gets underway in Baguio City Saturday.
The Tarlac-based squad skipped the revival of the annual event last year, allowing Manila Southwoods to capture its first senior crown.
Luisita will field all five members of the 2019 championship squad: Eddie Bagtas, Dan Cruz, Benjie Sumulong, Chino Raymundo and Rodel Mangulabnan. Adding more firepower is Marty Ilagan who is making his debut.
Luisita won three of the last five stagings, the only other time it did not win was in 2018 when it lost to Mega Fiber by two points.
“Our five guys have always played well in Fil-Am. As long as they play their normal games, we have a good chance of regaining our title,” said Luisita non-playing captain Jeric Hechanova.
“Plus we have a strong able ‘rookie’ in Marty Ilagan who will be a strong addition to the team in the remaining years to come.”
Manila Southwoods, which rolled over the opposition last year, will now be led by Junjun Plana, a fixture in its regular team now playing for the senior squad.
The other members are Raul Minoza, Jose “Jude” Roy III, Guangko Manfred and Theodore Pascual.
Both teams are expected to avail of two practice rounds beginning Thursday.
While action kicks off Saturday, the first round of the championship division begins on Sunday. There will be a break on Tuesday before play resumes Wednesday and Thursday.
The four-round tournament spread over six days is hosted by the Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay Golf Club.
On Wednesday, a press conference was held at John Hay presided over by BCC general manager Anthony de Leon and CJH GM Jude Eustaquio.
They were joined by rules men Jose Inigo and Jack Imperial.
The two-week event is held in partnership with Baguio Country Club, Camp John Hay Golf Club, The Manor, The Forest Lodge and Le Chef.
The event presenters are 3K Rock Engineering and Construction Corp., Toyota, Boysen and Columbia Sportswear.
The major sponsors are Palm Grove, Britanny Corp., and Asiatraders Corp. while minor sponsors are Time Cargo Logistics, Lola Nena’s, K&G, Rudy Project, JTEN Sports Inc., Januarius Holdings, Beer Below Zero, and Tee Sports Gear.
Hole-in-one sponsors are Spes Construction Inc., Noah Business Applications and Laus Group of Companies.
Daily Tribune and The Perfect Drive are media partners.
