Injury-free Keanu Jahns returns to Villamor with high hopes of scoring a breakthrough after falling short the last time out at the military course.
Jahns lost to Tony Lascuña in the final of the ICTSI Villamor Match Play championship last December before he took a break to recover from a wrist injury.
But with a strong finish in the recent ICTSI Luisita Championship, the 28-year-old Fil-German exudes confidence while gearing up for the ICTSI Villamor Philippine Masters, which gets going Tuesday at the relatively flat but challenging layout in Pasay.
“I’ve always felt comfortable playing at Villamor, so hopefully I can have another good finish this year,” Jahns said.
The injury kept him out of play in the first five tournaments of this year’s Philippine Golf Tour, including The Country Club Invitational where he also placed second to now PGA Tour campaigner Tom Kim in 2019.
He marked his return with a joint 16th place finish at Luisita.
“I had an OK start at Luisita considering that the last event I played before was the Villamor Match Play and I only started playing again the week before the event due to injury,” Jahns said. “Luisita was a good test for me to see if my wrist would handle tournament week again and it did.”
That makes him a marked player in the P2.5 million event put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.
“Yes, my length is definitely an advantage but I feel what it would come down to is approach and short game. If I am able to get closer to the hole with my wedges and short irons, I’ll have a better chance making birdies,” Jahns added.
A birdie-hunt is indeed expected in the 72-hole, stroke play championship given the elite field’s form coming off four highly-competitive battles in Bacolod, Iloilo, Caliraya and Luisita.
