The LPGT’s (Ladies Philippine Golf Tour) 2018 ICTSI Champion Tour this week heads south to the Tagaytay Midlands Club for the second of the back-to-back TLPGA Tour and LPGT co-sanctioned events.

Winner of the ICTSI Champion Tour - Manila Southwoods Golf & Country Club this past week, Ploychompoo Wilairungrueng will take aim at a repeat. The young Thai won with a 36-hole score of 10-under 134, as the final round was cancelled due to continual downpour.

The TLPGA tour and LPGT has co-sanctioned two tournaments in the 2018 schedule. This is the fourth year of collaborative effort by the two associations to bring higher competition for the development and growth of their home tour players. The Tagaytay Midlands Club event will be the seventh leg of the 2018 TLPGA Tour and serve as the eleventh stop on the LPGT.

The winner of the 104-player field will be decided on Friday in a 54-hole stroke play format. The total purse of the event is $75,000 while the winner takes away a $15,000 cash prize. The runner-up will pocket $7,500.

The Tagaytay Midlands course will play host to elite golfers from eight countries, including Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Taiwan and see them jostle their way through three days for the top honor. The competition layout will be set at 6,384 yards long.

First-round play starts from the first and tenth tees at 7:00 tomorrow morning; the last group will tee it up at 12:00 in the noon.

A cut will be made to the low 50 and ties after Thursday’s second round.

An 18-hole traditional pro-am was played on Wednesday where 22 pros and 66 amateur and club players were in action. The quartet led by Taiwanese player Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒), TLPGA chairwoman Cheng Mei-Chi (鄭美琦), and tournament director Cousart Rhoneil was the eventual winner.

The ICTSI (International Container Terminal Services, Inc.) is the title sponsor of the LPGT for the sixth consecutive year. The number of tournaments has been increased from six in 2013 to eleven in 2017.

Three of the TLPGA Tour top-10, Lee Hsin (李欣) (no.2), Chen Min-Jou (陳敏柔) (no.3), and Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒) (no.9), will be in the field as well as the talented Hou sisters Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) and Yu-Sang (侯羽桑). Yu-Chiang captured her first win in a pro event two months ago at the TLPGA Ladies Open – Nan Pao. The momentum was carried into last week as she finished as the low amateur and second on the leaderboard. Yu-Sang also made the top-5.

Home favorite Princess Mary Superal, co-runner-up at the Manila Southwoods Golf & Country Club, has had an outstanding year with two victories under her belt. She will look to go one step further than last week and add another title to her name.

Current leader on the LPGT money list and 2016 prize money winner, Ikeda Chihiro, will be hoping to join Superal as a multiple titlist in 2018. Cyna Rodrigurz, record holder as the LPGT money winner in year 2013-2015, and last year’s money winner Pauline del Rosario are both set to tee off on Wednesday.

Thailand will boast a strong line-up into this week again with Wilairungrueng, winner of the last pit stop, and Hitachi Ladies Classic winner Supamas Sangchan, who finished in a tie for second at the Manila Southwoods Golf & Country Club.

2016 and 2017 Philippine Ladies Masters champions Saranporn Langkulgasettrin and Renuka Suksukont will be another two big names to compete from Thailand. Langkulgasettrin has already had one TLPGA Tour victory this year at the EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open.