CEBU. – The big guns are keeping their cards close to their chests, with defending champion Canlubang intending “just to keep it close” as the 74th Philippine Airlines Interclub Seniors championship get going Wednesday here.
The opening round will be at the well-manicured Alta Vista, with Cangolf mainstay Tommy Manotoc refusing to bare their opening four while Luisita is having its practice round late Tuesday with non-playing skipper Jeric Hechanova deciding who to field later.
“We just want to keep it close after the first round,” Manotoc said when asked of the lineup that will get Cangolf’s title defense under way. “What I can tell you is that we can’t afford to fall behind big early, because Luisita is very, very strong.”
Hechanova said players who play well in the team’s practice round under heavy rain on the eve of the event will get the call as he emphasized his belief that there won’t be one course that will decide this year’s edition.
“We have to play well (on) all four days,” Hechanova explained. “Our players know that we can’t wait for the other teams to play bad. If they play well, we need to play great.”
Manila Southwoods and Del Monte are the other teams in the Championship division, although Manotoc believes that Cebu Country Club, playing in the lower Founders class, is a contender for the overall title.
Club Filipino will host the next two rounds, and Manotoc sees this one as the tiring version of the two mountain layouts.
“Anything can happen there,” Manotoc said. “Anyone with local knowledge of that course definitely has an advantage.”
The annual event, considered the country’s unofficial national team championship, was shelved for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s edition is supported by platinum sponsors ABS-CBN Global, Asian Journal, Airbus, and NUSTAR Resort and Casino while the gold sponsors include Radio Mindanao Network, Mastercard, Primax, University of Mindanao Broadcasting Network, PLDT/Smart, and Konsulta MD.
