Guido chasing history with clock ticking
There’s some sense of urgency when Guido van der Valk talks about the rich The Country Club Invitational. That’s because at 45 years old, he knows—understandably—that time’s running out in his chase of history.
“I don’t have many years left to win it,” the Dutchman, who has called the Philippines home, said, referring to a record-tying win in the P6 million event that would put him in the company of two of local golf’s biggest stars of the modern day.
Van der Valk just missed joining Juvic Pagunsan and Angelo Que as the only three-time winners last year, when he blew a two-shot lead with one hole to play in regulation before losing in sudden death to South Korea’s Minwook Gwon.
He vows never to have a repeat of that meltdown, doing everything—physically and mentally—in the lead-up to the 72-hole championship that gets going on Jan. 27 at the windswept layout in Sta. Rosa.
“I don’t think the same things will happen again,” he said. “I’ve worked hard and I’m excited about where my game is right now.”
Top 30
Van der Valk, though, knows that the competition has only gotten steeper through the years with the younger set of players.
The tournament is reserved for the top 30 or so players of the Philippine Golf Tour last season, meaning only the best of the best will be slugging it out for the P1.5 million top purse.
Van der Valk says that he is in great shape coming into the year and is eager to get the season going.
“I always miss competing when there are no tournaments,” he added. “So I’m really excited to get started.”
He’s not the only one feeling that way.
Que has his own piece of history to pursue and young guns like Keanu Jahns, Aidric Chan and Carl Corpus loom as the players to watch, mainly because their length can more or less neutralize the challenge that the TCC offers.
“I am going to give it my best shot,” Que had told the Inquirer recently. “It (record fourth title) will be another achievement that I can unlock if it happens.”
And then there’s Gwon, who will shoot for a repeat and get his 2026 PGT season going off on the right foot.
