SARUTTAYA Ngam-usawn of Thailand is all pumped up as she competes in the ICTSI Champion Tour starting Wednesday at the Manila Southwoods in Carmona, Cavite CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CARMONA, Cavite – The ICTSI Champion Tour kicks off its two-week swing at Manila Southwoods with the crack international field, led by the fancied Thais and Taiwanese, slugging it out for top honors in wet condition today here.

Rains spawned by Typhoon Henry have softened up the fairways and the greens but the all-weather Legends layout remain ready for the 54-hole tournament that drew some of the leading players of the Taiwan LPGA Tour and the cream of the local pro crop.

“The course is so great even in this kind of weather,” said Saruttaya Ngam-usawn, one of a slew of Thais tipped to contend for the $15,000 top purse.

“It’s easy because they have forwarded the pins, so I’ll just enjoy my game.”

The winner of the Royal Northwoods leg of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour in 2016 is actually fighting off flu-like symptoms but remained upbeat of her chances against a stellar cast that includes bidders from Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and the US.

Taiwanese Lee Hsin and Chen Min-Jou, the Nos. 2 and 3 players, respectively, in the current TLPGA Order of Merit ranking, and No. 9 Lin Tzu-chi, and Thais Saranporn Langkulgasettrin and Renuka Suksukont, winners of the first two Philippine Ladies Masters, banner the star-studded field in the TLPGA Tour-sanctioned event also serving as the 10th leg of the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.

LPGT leg winners Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, Onkanok Soisuwan, Wannasiri Sirisampant and Supakchaya Pattaranakrueang also exude confidence as they seek another title.

Focus will also be on the local bets, who are out to end the foreign domination of the Champion Tour and this year’s LPGT that saw the Thais rack up five victories, including Kawinpakorn, who nailed her second LPGT win in the season at Summit Point last month.

Reigning LPGT OOM champion Pauline del Rosario, who tied for eighth at the Ladies European Tour Thailand Open last month, simply put it context when she said: “Players who are best in this kind of weather will win.”

The month-long break has also given the likes of Cyna Rodriguez and Chihiro Ikeda the time to hone up and polish their respective games while Princess Superal and Del Rosario are coming into the event – and on a course they call home – fresh from their campaign in the Symetra Tour and the TLPGA and LET, respectively.

“The break has given me more time to prepare for this week,” said Rodriguez, the former three-time LPGT Order of Merit winner. “I made a quick fix with my swing and I’m excited to test it out against a tough field.”