MANILA – Juvic Pagunsan hopes to brandish the same form he flaunted in ruling The Country Club Invitational in runaway fashion last year as he guns for a third crown in the P4.63 million event which fires off 21 January at the plush The Country Club course in Laguna.

Pagunsan, 30, flashed superb form throughout the four-day championship at one of the country’s toughest courses, outclassing a field teeming with talents, including the eminent Frankie Minoza, and posting a record 11-stroke victory over veteran Asian Tour campaigner and former champion Angelo Que.

“I am confident of my chances again but I think it will be difficult this time,” said the smooth-swinging Pagunsan, who broke into the Asian Tour limelight by topping the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational and barely winning the year-ending Volvo Masters of Asia in 2007.

With a princely pot of P1.35 million, the battle for the championship is expected to go down-to-the-wire with a slew of players raring to go and foil Pagunsan’s title-retention bid for the richest purse ever staked in the staked in the annual event sponsored by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. headed by Ricky Razon.

“It will be a close fight. This is one event we’ve all been waiting for, so we prepared hard for this and it will be a different story this year,” said Cassius Casas, who won the inaugural staging of the championship, held in honor of ICTSI founder Enrique "Don Pocholo" Razon Sr. in 2003.

The dusky Davaoeno shotmaker’s game, however, took a downswing as he endured poor form until Casas, who dominated the local golf circuit in the 90s, came back with a big victory in the B-Ing Championship on the Asean Tour last year.

Also fancied to contend for the crown are 2005 champion Jerome Delariarte, Elmer Salvador, Rey Pagunsan, Jay Bayron, Marvin Dumandan, Benjie Magada, Robert Pactolerin, Artemio Murakami, Danny Zarate, Orlan Sumcad, Richard Sinfuego, Ruben Sasutil, Cookie La’O, Carito Villaroman and former RP Open champion Gerald Rosales.

The four-day event, which also offers P685,000, P440,000, P315,000 and P225,000 to the next four placers, will feature the top 36 players from the Order of Merit ranking of the 2008 Philippine Golf Tour, which kicked off with a three-stage circuit late last year.*PNA

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