RUPERT Zaragosa braces for a tough outing against a crack international field as he tries to make it back-to-back in the 20th WWWExpress-DHL RVF Cup Amateur Golf Championship which gets going Feb. 10 at the Canlubang Golf and Country Club in Laguna.
Zaragosa, who fell short of his title bid in the Philippine Amateur Stroke Play Championship won by Jobim Carlos at Eagle Ridge last month, rallied from behind to beat Andres Saldana and nail his first DHL crown last year.
With Carlos and Saldana now in the pro ranks, Zaragosa is tipped as the player to beat in the four-day championship presented by the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour and put up WWWExpress and DHL Express for the 20th year in its continuing effort to develop the sport and help produce future champions.
Still, the depth of the field remains as talent-laden as ever with the likes of Justin Quiban, Gen Nagai, Jaime Patnongon, Ricar Candinato, Wei Wei Gao, JR Gonzales, Raymart Tolentino, Ramir Roque, Carlo Villaroman and Joel Yamyamin out to foil Zaragosa’s drive for another championship.
A slew of Korean players has also signed up for the event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines with Chung Jeon Woo, Kim Hyun Cheol, Kang Dong Guk, Kim Joo Hyung and Lee Sang Hyeon leading the charge of the Riviera-based golfers out to crowd the favorites.
Peter Hargreaves from Darwin Golf Club in Australia is also in the roster along with Japanese Yuma Ohno and other Koreans Lee Seong Min, Ko Myeong Hun, Kim Young Uk and Dong Su Seo.
Keen competition is also seen in the ladies side of the event firing off Feb. 11 with Lois Kaye Go and Wei Fang Gao from Cebu, Wack Wack’s Felicia Medalla, Valley Golf’s Kayla Nocum, Aguinaldo’s Bianca Pagdanganan and Villamor’s Harmie Constantino expected to crowd for the crown.
Fil-Am Carlia Canto also hopes to make an impact in the 54-hole ladies tournament along with Koreans An Ye Eun, Choi Min Chae, Choi Ve Rim, Choi Yeon Hwa, Hwang Min Jeong, Hye Bin Lee, Kang Da Yun and Koh Eun Ah.
The top 60 players will advance to the third round in the men’s division with the top 40 moving to the final 18 holes while the top 20 will advance in women’s play.
For details, call NGAP Office at (02) 7065926 or 0917-5177259 or email ngapgolf@rocketmail.com /ngap2009handicap@yahoo.com or Canlubang golf at (049) 5491363.