Golf: US$1 Million up for grabs in Resorts World Manila Masters
The richest tournament in the history of Philippine golf will tee off in November with the second running of the Resorts World Manila Masters.
This was bared on Wednesday morning at the Taps Bar in Genting Club in Resorts World Manila at a press conference attended by Stephen Reilly, COO of Resorts World Manila, Asian Tour head Kyi Hla Han, and Manila Southwoods Golf and Country club president Bob Sobrepeña.
Last year Liang Wen-Chong of the Republic of China won the inaugural event in a playoff over Thai veteran Prom Meesawat. Since it occurred mere days after typhoon Yolanda struck, he graciously donated half of his first prize, totaling about P2.9 million to typhoon relief via the Philippine Red Cross. Han hinted that the tournament will once again lend a hand to less-fortunate Filipinos this year when he said “we like to make these efforts to give back.”
This year Resorts World is upping the ante from US$750,000 to US$1,000,000, making it the richest ever on Philippine soil. Typically a golf tournament pays out one sixth of its total kitty to the winner, so this year's champ could be banking around US$160,000, or about seven million pesos.
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The event, which will run from November 20 to 23 at the Masters Course in Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club in Carmona, Cavite, will also have a new presenting sponsor, online casino 918.com. Maideline Aure of 918.com was also present in the event.
Han also noted that the competition, like all Asian Tour tournaments, offers world ranking points, which will be the basis for qualification for the golf competition in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
The Masters course, which measures 7225 yards off the tips, is a Jack Nicklaus design that Han calls one of his favorites from his playing days. It's characterized by narrow, small greens that are positioned at an angle to the fairway, requiring excellent iron play if the pin is tucked to the back of the green, since either bunkers or water hazards often guard the putting surfaces.
In the opinion of Han, the Masters track is one of Nicklaus' better Asian designs, even more so than his Mission Hills course in China. The Asian Tour players vote on their favorite courses every year and Han says the Southwoods layout was in the top three among the voters.
In last year's Masters the greens were slick, rated at around 10.5 on the stimpmeter, according to Southwoods general manager Mark Watson. Veteran golf writer Mike Besa says that the greens tend to grow even quicker as the day goes on.
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Han says that Filipino players have always been very talented, and the Asian Tour has three events in the country this year, the last being the ICTSI Philippine Open won by Marcus Both of Australia in Wack Wack East. The Tour also operates three legs of its Asian Development Tour in the country.
Last year Angelo Que was one of the leading Filipinos in the first three days, but Charles Hong from Cebu finished strong to end up as the top local player with a -12 under 276 that put him in a tie for ninth.
Han, a Myanmar golfing legend, also says Frankie Miñoza, the Bukidnon native who is a year older than he, is still a threat to win the Resorts World Masters even though he is north of fifty years old.
It is not known if top Pinoy pro Juvic Pagunsan, who played in last week's British Open Championship, will be one of the 140 or so entrants. He didn't play in last year's RW Masters and also missed the 2014 Philippine Open.
Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.
