Delos Santos readies to win tournament with ‘special pride’
CARMONA, Cavite—Less than a day after planing in, a slightly jet-lagged Justin delos Santos buckled down to work and played a practice round at the Masters course of Manila Southwoods here on Sunday morning just to see how “the greens react.”
He hit 5-wood off the tee and then a wedge from the rough to five feet of the cup for a birdie on No. 1.
Asked if that was a sign of things to come as he helps carry the local fight in the revival of the Smart Infinity Philippine Open starting on Thursday, the 29-year-old Japan Golf Tour standout said: “I certainly hope so.”
Born and raised in the United States but one who cherishes his Filipino roots by playing under the PH flag in Japan, Delos Santos is the second-highest ranked local bet behind Miguel Tabuena in the $500,000 (around P29 million) championship.
It was his first round here since 2019, but he preferred to feast on some tapsilog at the veranda for breakfast over a long warm-up session before teeing off.
“I was mainly trying to find out what to hit for tee shots and get a feel of how the greens react,” Delos Santos told the Inquirer after the round he played with dad John, reigning US Women’s and Junior Girls Am champ Rianne Malixi and club member Osler Padua. “My game felt good, even though I was dealing with slight jet lag.”
“He just loves the Filipino culture, the Filipino way of life,” the older Delos Santos said, pointing to the breakfast that his son ordered.
Delos Santos, ranked 731st in the world, is one of the bright local hopes in the 72-hole championship, and he made it no secret what this tournament is to him.
A strong foreign cast led by former Asian Tour Order of Merit winners Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand and American Sihwan Kim will be out to take the trophy away from a Filipino’s hands. Clyde Mondilla won the last time the event was held in 2019, following Tabuena’s second victory the year before.
“This tournament is quite special,” he said. “I feel like for me, it’s one of those tournaments that has a sense of pride to go along with it. Plus I get to see extended parts of my family I don’t usually get to see, so I can really feel their support.”
Incidentally, the Masters layout is nearing perfect shape as Open week is here, as its roughs have grown to the desired length of at least three inches and its greens are rolling perfectly.
A speed of 12 on the Stimpmeter in time for the tournament is very achievable, and this is expected to make life harder for the 144-strong field, especially if the gusts expected at this time of year are present on tournament week.
Southwoods has also announced that it will open its gates free of charge to the watching public starting with the Pro-Am on Wednesday. Although no carts will be allowed at any part of the course, fans can follow their favorite players walking the cart paths.
