Amateurs out to steal show in Midlands Champion Tour

MANILA, Philippines — With Taiwanese sisters Hou Yu-Chiang and Hou Yu-Sang tipped to re-display the form they showed at Southwoods, a slew of local amateurs are also joining the fray in the ICTSI Champion Tour at Tagaytay Midlands, all seeking to steal the thunder from the big guns when the $75,000 event is fired off tomorrow.

Asian Games-bound Lois Kaye Go primes up for the quadrennial meet in Indonesia as she spearheads the young locals’ charge in the blue-ribbon event featuring the leading pros from the Taiwan LPGA Tour and the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

Go, who with Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan will banner the country’s campaign in next month’s Asiad, placed second to Thai veteran Yupaporn Kawinpakorn in the LPGT Women’s Championship at Summit Point last month and is looking forward to contending in this week’s event serving as the last of the two ICTSI Champion Tour lgs sanctioned by the Taiwan LPGA.

The top players of Team The Country Club are also in the fold, including Sofia Chabon, Mikha Fortuna, Mafy Singson, Samantha Dizon and Laia Barro, while former TCC mainstay and now California Baptist University sophomore Sam Martirez is also joining the hunt along with Annika Cedo and Koreans Kim Hui Won and Jang Yunji.

But focus will still be on the Hou sisters with Chiang and Sang setting out to duplicate, if not better their strong showing in the rain-shortened Champion Tour event at Southwoods topped by Thai Ploychompoo Wirairungreung.

Chiang tied for second with Princess Superal and another Thai Supamas Sangchan with a six-under total after 36 holes while Sang placed solo fifth with a five-under aggregate.

No amateur has won an ICTSI Champion Tour leg since it was included in the LPGT in 2016 with Korean ace Lee Jeong Hwa sweeping the inaugurals’ first two tournaments and Thai Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul and Korean Hwang Ye-Nah splitting the honors last year.

Meanwhile, the leading pros test the Midlands layout one last time today as they team up with officials and guests of the event’s chief backers, including ICTSI, Custom Clubmakers, BDO, Meralco, Sharp, KZGm PLDT, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and K&G Golf, in the traditional pro-am tournament.