Juvic top bet in PGT Negros Occ. Classic

BACOLOD  , Philippines  —   Juvic Pagunsan has been used to being the hunted in a checkered golfing career. And being one again in the ICTSI Negros Occidental Classic firing off today doesn’t worry him a bit.

He gained that tag after dominating practically the same field he faced in the ICTSI Bacolod Golf Challenge in nearby Murcia last weekend. And having ruled this event last year and playing on a course he calls home make him all the more the favorite.

But the reticent shotmaker has made it a point to stay focused on every tournament. When in the zone, he could be tough to handle.

“I always give my 100 percent and I take my game seriously all the time,” said Pagunsan, who drew Dutch Guido Van der Valk and Rufino Bayron in the featured 11:20 a.m. flight on No. 10.

The Japan PGA Tour regular outwitted reigning PGT Order of Merit champion but absentee Jobim Carlos on the second playoff hole to reign here last year, and he marked his return to the local circuit with a seven-stroke romp over Bayron in Murcia.

That makes him the player to beat in the P3 million event sponsored by ICTSI with the smooth-swinging shotmaker expected to cash in on his local knowledge of the par-70 Marapara layout that features twisting fairways and a tough backside littered with water hazards and deceptive holes.

Still, the rest of the 105-player field, including 37 foreign aces, remain hopeful of foiling the hometown hero.