On 23 to 26 October, several LIV Golf stars, along with Asia’s top golfers, will descend on Sta. Elena Golf Club for The International Series Philippines, presented by Bingo Plus. The tournament is part of The International Series — a collaboration between the Asian Tour and LIV Golf. The tournaments provide a pathway for Asian Tour players to get into the lucrative LIV Golf tour.

This year, The International Series is composed of nine “elevated” Asian Tour stops, culminating in the PIF Saudi International in November. The Philippine leg, the sixth stop of the 2025 series, promises fireworks with several major winners in the field. Former Masters and US Open Champion Dustin Johnson, Masters Champions Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel, and Bubba Watson are set to play, as is Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen. Local star Miguel Tabuena will be leading the homegrown talents, and will be taking advantage of his home course knowledge of the venue, Sta. Elena Golf Club.

We haven’t really had this big of a tournament in three decades, with the last major international golf tournament in memory being the Johnnie Walker Classic in 1995 at the Orchard Golf and Country Club. Thirty years later, we once again welcome some of golf’s top stars in what should be a boost to local golf.

I was fortunate to be able to watch the Johnnie Walker Classic at Orchard in 1995. This was before the legend of Tiger Woods exploded, and Greg Norman was on top of the golf rankings and at the height of his popularity. Fred Couples, the ever-popular fan favorite, won the tournament — and as a teen just bitten by the golf bug, I couldn’t believe I was walking among golfing gods back in the ’90s. It seemed like everyone had come: Norman, Els, Couples, Langer, Price, Montgomerie, Ballesteros, Westwood, and the list goes on. For a week in January 1995, the Philippines became the center of the golfing world.

This time, The International Series Philippines brings major champions to our shores, giving us a chance to see them in action at a course familiar to most avid golfers. Sta. Elena is a popular tournament venue for top corporate golf events.

Arguably the best-kept course in the country, its pristine fairways and impeccable facilities, matched with the best staff and service in local golf, should give visitors a glimpse into our brand of golf. This tournament is our chance to show the world the legendary Filipino hospitality, and I think the organizers couldn’t have picked a better venue.

When it comes to golf, I feel Sta. Elena might be a little lacking when it comes to course difficulty. Even when stretched to 7300 yards, I don’t see pros hitting long iron approach shots. I may be wrong, but Sta. Elena isn’t known for being one of the more challenging layouts in local golf.

Wide fairways and receptive greens make it one of the friendlier courses out there. But the recent wet weather might make it play longer than usual, so we’ll find out by the end of October.

Thinking about which holes might cause problems for the pros, I’d say holes 5 and 6 on the front are pretty penal. On the back, holes 11 and 17 might show some teeth. But in general, I foresee low scoring, which isn’t really bad. On the contrary, it’ll be more entertaining to see pros attacking the course and going low.

Of course, most of us will be rooting for Miguel Tabuena. He is actually in good form, playing well at the recently held Jakarta International Championship. Knowing Sta. Elena like the back of his hand should give him as good a chance as anywhere. I think he really has a good chance of winning, or at least of putting himself in contention come the weekend.

Tournaments like these don’t come often, so we should come in droves and support them. If we want events like these to come to our shores more often, the best way to ensure that is to make The International Series Philippines a rousing success. See you all at Sta. Elena this 23 to 26 October.