Breakneck Finish: Wide-Open Race Looms as ICTSI Summit Point Unwraps

Justin Quiban is back, Angelo Que is hungry for another title, and a host of power hitters and young guns are primed to make their move.

With the Philippine Golf Tour’s (PGT) first four legs producing three one-stroke finishes, another breakneck battle looms as the ICTSI Summit Point Championship gets going Tuesday at the Summit Point Golf and Country Club here.

Quiban returns to the local circuit after a stint overseas, where he continued to sharpen his game following his stirring come-from-behind victory at Lakewood in the season’s opening leg. Que, meanwhile, is out to build on his clutch performance at Caliraya Springs, where he scrambled his way to a dramatic last-hole escape over fellow veteran Tony Lascuña.

And with Lloyd Go, winner of the last two legs at Pinewoods and Pradera Verde, opting to compete abroad in pursuit of added experience and game enhancement, the title chase has been thrown even wider open.

The stage is therefore set for another highly charged four-day shootout, with established stars, emerging talents and a growing band of contenders all capable of seizing the slightest opening.

Summit Point should provide the perfect test.

The course has held its own despite the recent mix of sun and rain, and while its well-maintained layout may look inviting, it can quickly turn daunting when approached without discipline. Softer fairways could encourage the Tour’s big hitters to attack more aggressively but knowing when to unleash the power — and when to throttle back — could prove just as important.

The course rewards boldness, but it also exacts a price for even the slightest lapse in judgment.

Keanu Jahns leads the power-hitting charge, arriving with renewed confidence after a respectable finish in a rare Asian Development Tour event last month. The Filipino-German ace, a four-time PGT leg winner who capped last season with the Match Play Championship, has been knocking on the door again and feels it is time to reclaim the spotlight.

Jahns opened the season with a third-place finish at Lakewood, followed it with sixth at Caliraya Springs, stumbled to joint 28th at Pinewoods, then bounced back with another third-place showing at Pradera Verde. He now hopes to turn that roller-coaster run into another victory at Summit Point.

Sean Ramos likewise enters the week with title aspirations. The young standout, who broke through for his first PGT victory in 2024, has spent the last two months competing overseas, further honing a game that increasingly looks ready for another championship run in the P2.5-million event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.

He is only one of a talented crop of young players determined to break through.

Carl Corpus has another PGT title firmly in his sights after claiming the Valley Golf leg last year. With the Asian Games looming later this month, Corpus is also using the event as an important competitive tune-up, seeking to find his rhythm early and build the form and confidence needed for the daunting Asiad challenge.