ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Golf devider Van der Valk shoots for 3-peat in TCC Invitational

Van der Valk shoots for 3-peat in TCC Invitational

Published Jan 20, 2024 08:09 am

At A Glance

  • Bracing himself for a grind, Guido van der Valk has dedicated significant effort honing his skills in preparation for his title defense in The Country Club Invitational, which gets going on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at the TCC in Canlubang.

Bracing himself for a grind, Guido van der Valk has dedicated significant effort honing his skills in preparation for his title defense in The Country Club Invitational, which gets going on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at the TCC in Canlubang.

guido3.jpg
Guido van der Valk

Having reigned in the last two editions of the country’s premier championship, the Manila-based Dutchman remains cautious about the formidable competition, notwithstanding his impressive five-stroke romp over Lloyd Go last year.

He nailed his first TCC Invitational crown via the hard way, hacking out a one-stroke victory over Clyde Mondilla in 2020 before the Philippine Golf Tour’s flagship tournament was postponed for two years due to pandemic.

As part of the exclusive field composed of former champions and the Top 30 in the previous year’s PGT Order of Merit rankings, van der Valk anticipates a fierce contest for top honors, considering the elite cast and the challenges posed by the TCC course.

“I’m hoping for a good week. It’s going to be a great test of golf as The Country Club always is,” he said.

Meanwhile, a select group of pros will acquaint themselves with the TCC layout tomorrow (Monday, Jan. 22) for the traditional pro-am tournament, partnering with TCC members and amateur guests of the sponsoring ICTSI.

Recognizing the demanding conditions, including the course’s length, the defending champion meticulously worked on refining every aspect of his game during the break, collaborating with his coach over the holidays.

“I had my coach over here during the holidays, so had some work done. Hoping it will all fall into place before the tournament,” said van der Valk.

The rest also look forward to a gripping test of will and character given the demanding conditions with three-time champion Angelo Que, alongside former titlists Tony Lascuña and Miguel Tabuena, also gearing up for the challenge.

Jhonnel Ababa, who topped the PGT OOM derby last year with two leg victories and a number of Top 10 finishes, Mondilla, Reymon Jaraula, Ruperto Zaragosa III, Dino Villanueva, Michael Bibat, Marvin Dumandan, Sean Ramos and Go are equally determined to secure a breakthrough win in the P6 million championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and supported by PGTI’s official apparel Kampfortis Golf.

“Just looking forward to another fight against a great field of players. It would be a great honor to win again, but I know there will be a lot of guys out there trying to stop me,” said van der Valk.

A mix of seasoned campaigners and rising stars are also in the hunt for the top P2 million purse in the 72-hole championship launched by ICTSI chairman/CEO Ricky Razon in 2003. They include Keanu Jahns, Zanieboy Gialon, Albin Engino, Nilo Salahog, Jay Bayron, Elmer Salvador, Koreans Hyun Ho Rho and Minseong Kim, Fidel Concepcion, Rico Depilo, Elee Bisera, Art Arbole, Mars Pucay, Gerald Rosales, Gabriel Manotoc and Ferdie Aunzo.

Related Tags

tcc
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.