Eighty-one bidders, including 24 foreign bets, kick of their drive for berths in the combined 2020 Philippine Golf Tour and PGT Asia Qualifying School on Tuesday at Splendido Taal Golf Club in Batangas.
Deviating from its past setup of holding separate elims for the PGT and PGT Asia, the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. has decided to stage one Q-School for both circuits although this year’s staging suffered in terms of participation amid the COVID-19 concerns.
Still, nine players from Korea and the US, Venezuela, Spain, Japan, Australia, Britain and South Africa, including five amateurs, are in the fold, ready and eager to join the region’s emerging circuit, PGT Asia, which unveils its fourth season on April 28-May 1 for the ICTSI Luisita Championship at Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac.
They include those who landed outside of the Top 40 in last year’s PGT Asia Order of Merit ranking, led by Korean Hwang Myung Chal, Rafael Parra of Venezuela, Emilio Parodi of Spain and former national amateur champion Gen Nagai of Japan.
The top 12 qualifiers after 72 holes will be included in Category 7 with the rest settling for Category 9 berths.
Many-time Masters champions Robert Pactolerin and Rodrigo Cuello, former national titlist Jun Bernis, big-hitting Sean Talmadge, former PGT leg winner Arnold Villacencio and former national team mainstays Rey Pagunsan and Cookie La’O, on the other hand, banner the cast in the PGT side of the elims.
After 36 holes, the leading 40 players and ties will advance to the last two rounds with the top 30 to gain Category 6 slots and the next 20 to be included in Category 9.
The 11th season of PGT starts March 25-28 for the ICTSI Summit Point Challenge in Lipa City, Batangas.