Pagunsan joins title hunt at Summit Point

LIPA CITY, Philippines – Juvic Pagunsan stirs up the chase for a Philippine Golf Tour Asia crown as he firms up the already formidable international cast set for a shootout in the $100,000 ICTSI Summit Point World 18 Challenge beginning today at the Summit Point Golf and Country Club here.

The smooth-swinging Negrense made himself available for the closing leg of the third season of Asia’s newest circuit with a short break from the Japan PGA Tour, all primed up to cap a brilliant local campaign he spiked with a record four-title romp on the PGT from June to August this year.

But he will be as much tested as the rest of the 100-player cast that includes three aces gunning for a second crown in the third season of PGT Asia and a mix of players from at least 15 countries seeking to hit paydirt in the circuit put up by ICTSI.

Luisita and Taiwan leg champions Namchok Tantipokhakul and Wisut Artjanawat, both from Thailand, and Tony Lascuña, winner of the other Taiwan event last month, are tipped to crowd Pagunsan for the top $17,500 purse along with local top guns Clyde Mondilla, Jhonnel Ababa, Tony Lascuña, Jay Bayron, Reymon Jaraula, Keanu Jahns, Michael Bibat, James Ryan Lam and defending champion Joenard Rates.

Put in former PGT Asia leg titlist Damien Jordan and David Gleeson, both from Australia, Americans Brett Munson, Joshua Salah and Lexus Keoninh, Dutch Guido Van der Valk and Korean-American Micah Shin, the title chase indeed couldn’t get any fiercer, tighter in the next four days.