CEBU — The top-five players on the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit ranking slug it out with the country’s leading players in the Aboitiz Invitational presented by ICTSI next week, ensuring a wide open battle for top honors in the $65,000 event at the Cebu Country Club here.
Ryan Bulloch of Australia, the current ADT OOM leader, Peter Richardson of England and Australians Luke Bleumink and Anthony Choat have confirmed participation in the four-day championship set Aug. 8 to 11 serving as the seventh leg of the 11-stage ADT, a farm tour launched in 2010 for emerging stars in the region and across the world.
Jay Bayron, currently No. 2 in the ADT money list, will banner the local challenge, seeking to defend the crown he won over compatriot Marvin Dumandan last year. But he is expected to face stiff competition this time, not only from the slew of foreign rivals but from the local roster as well.
Asian Tour No. 1 Juvic Pagunsan is in the list with the smooth-swinging shotmaker, also the reigning ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour OOM winner, tipped to contend for the crown along with the likes of fellow Asian Tour campaigners Tony Lascuna, Angelo Que, Mars Pucay, Artemio Murakami and teener Miguel Tabuena.
But Bayron will still be the odds-on favorite after securing his second ADT victory at the Bii Maybank ADT Challenge in Indonesia last month.
“I have my own goal of finishing as high as I can on the OOM and I’ll need a good result to accomplish that,” said Bayron during yesterday’s launch of the event presented by ICTSI and sponsored by Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. “Many Filipinos have excelled on the Asian Tour and it motivates me to try my best and earn an Asian Tour card through the ADT.”
The top three players at the end of the ADT season will earn cards for next year’s Asian Tour.
Bayron will actually be seeking a three-peat, having ruled the Aboitiz Invitational in 2010 as a regular PGT event. He is fast gaining popularity with his come-from-behind victories as he showed last year when he closed out with a six-under-par 64 to beat Dumandan by five shots.