BAGUIO CITY — The 74th Januarius Fil-Am Invitational promises to be bigger and better as teams vie for honors in the two-week tournament that starts Nov. 26 at premier highland courses Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay.

With the demand always on the rise to enter the longest running amateur golf competition in the world, the Summer Capital prepares to accommodate the mammoth participation of 1,400 players who are all eager to get a share of glory and fun in the challenging layouts that feature tough par 3s and narrow fairways laced with age-old pine trees.

"Tight squeeze for all the teams and the duration of the tournament but we will all be prepared to accommodate them all and make the two-week event a memorable one," said Camp John Hay Golf Club General Manager and tournament co-chairman Jude Eustaquio.

"We want to have a healthy competition, and at the same time give all the participants a fun tournament in 'air-conditioned golf'," Eustaquio added as he was joined by Baguio Country Club counterpart Anthony de Leon during the press conference on Monday, Oct. 28.

Among the 260 teams, still the squad to beat is nine-time champion Manila Southwoods, while Eastridge, Luisita and Januarius are all longing to dethrone the Fil Championship kings.

While having a successful event comes as top priority, Eustaquio believes it is also high time for the players to ride the momentum of the recent achievement of Filipino golfers like Rianne Malixi, Rico Joey, Bianca Pagdanganan, and two-time US Open champ Yuka Saso.

A big portion of the proceeds will go to charitable institutions and also disaster relief for Typhoon 'Kristine' victims.