Asian Games-bound Corpus seeks second PGT crown
MANILA, Philippines — Carl Corpus will be gunning for more than a second Philippine Golf Tour victory — and a third professional career title — when the ICTSI Summit Point Championship is fired off Tuesday, September 8, the at Summit Point Golf and Country Club in Lipa City, Batangas.
The 25-year-old rising star also sees the 72-hole, P2.5-million championship as a crucial tuneup for the bigger challenge that awaits later this month: the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Corpus will help lead the Philippine charge in the Asiad alongside a formidable cast headed by LIV Golf mainstay Miguel Tabuena and Japan Golf Tour campaigner Justin delos Santos. With the regional showcase fast approaching, the Summit Point stop offers Corpus a timely opportunity to sharpen his game, regain competitive rhythm and fine-tune the parts of his game he believes need the most work.
In particular, the demanding Summit Point layout should test Corpus’ short game and play around the greens — areas he expects to benefit from as he prepares for the tougher international test in Japan.
His return to the Asian Games comes three years after a debut in Hangzhou that fell short of his expectations.
Corpus, playing alongside cousin and PGT regular Aidric Chan, finished 33rd in the individual competition and helped the Philippines tie for ninth in the team event.
Three years later, however, Corpus heads back to the Asiad as a vastly different player — older, battle-tested and armed with a professional resume that continues to grow.
Since Hangzhou, he has steadily established himself on both the international and domestic circuits. He broke through on the Asian Development Tour with a victory in the Morocco Rising Stars Marrakech last year before claiming his first PGT championship at Valley Golf in Antipolo at the close of the 2025 local season.
Those victories gave Corpus something he did not have during his Asiad debut: proven success at the professional level.
Now, he gets a chance to bring that confidence to the Asian Games.
But first things first.
Corpus is keen to make the most of the PGT’s return after a two-month break, with Summit Point providing exactly the kind of competitive test he needs before heading to Japan. A strong showing could provide not only another boost to his growing PGT résumé but also valuable momentum heading into the Asiad.
The task, however, will be anything but easy.
Corpus will face a formidable field, with the leading local players all eager to make an immediate impact after the long break. Among those set to challenge for the crown are reigning Order of Merit champion Angelo Que and multi-titled campaigners Keanu Jahns, Tony Lascuña, Reymon Jaraula, Guido van der Valk and Zanieboy Gialon.
Young guns Sean Ramos, Jeffren Lumbo and Russell Bautista will also be in the mix, along with Chan and Fil-Am Ivan Yabut.
Focus will likewise be on Justin Quiban, who returns to the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.-organized circuit after making a dramatic statement in the season-opening Lakewood Championship, where he emerged champion.
The local aces will also have to contend with a strong foreign contingent led by Taewon Ha, Kim Tae Soo, Jisung Cheon and Lee Song, along with Japanese campaigners Sena Shiraishi and Kashihara Hirotaka.
With a deep field and four rounds of demanding competition ahead, Summit Point promises to be more than a battle for the next PGT crown.
For Corpus, it is also the first major step toward getting his game — and his confidence — where he wants them before the Asian Games. (Pool story)
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