Mondilla leaves no stone unturned

MANILA, Philippines — Clyde Mondilla is all pumped up for another possible shot at The Country Club Invitational crown beginning on Tuesday at the TCC course in Laguna.

“As much as possible, I practice daily – fairways in the morning then range in the afternoon,” said Mondilla, who had squandered two clear cracks at the title in the last two editions of the Philippine Golf Tour’s flagship tournament.

But heading to the record P6 million championship, Mondilla admits he remains far from reaching top form, saying: “Even if I practice every day, I still have so much to improve on.”

With 12 titles under his belt, however, including the Philippine Open in 2019, also at TCC, Mondilla looms as one of the marked men in the elite cast spearheaded by five former winners, including one of the event’s two three-time champion Juvic Pagunsan (2006, 2008 and 2012).

Others going for a second championship are 2013 winner Frankie Miñoza, multi-titled Tony Lascuna (2004) and Micah Shin, who became the first non-Filipino winner of the event put up by ICTSI chairman and CEO Ricky Razon in 2003 to honor his father and ICTSI founder Don Pocholo, when he nipped 2017 titlist Miguel Tabuena by one in 2018.