Thanks to a combination of sheer skill and talent, Filipino golfers are expected to post stellar performances and trump their foreign counterparts at the Aboitiz Invitational this week, a regional golfing official said.

“This is something very unique: in our partnership in the last five years with PGT (Philippine Golf Tour), 99% of the time, locals have won the event. You don’t see this anywhere in the world. The ratio is normally 50-50, but Filipino players are obviously very strong, and this is due to the great structure PGT has in place,” said Irfan Hamid, Asian Development Tour (ADT) Associate Director at the opening of the much-awaited Aboitiz Invitational last July.

Hamid went on to praise the organizers of the Aboitiz Invitational, which is sponsored by holding company Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) and organized by presented by PGT and ADT together with International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI)

“This contribution by PGT, ICTSI, and Aboitiz will go a long way in developing the golf circuit in the country, and hopefully we will have Angelo Que and Tony (Antonio) Lascuña up there in the rankings. If the Olympics were taking place tomorrow, I think both of them will qualify,” Hamid added.

Aboitiz has long been an active supporter of initiatives similar to the Aboitiz Invitational that promote health and well being through sports.

“Aside from our groupwide annual sportsfest, we also support athletic events such as the AboitizPower Philippine Hobie Challenge, the AboitizPower Tour of Subic, and the Aboitiz Football Cup, known as Cebu’s most prestigious football tournament.  We take pride in having our own champion corporate football club, the FC Aboitiz,” said Erramon I. Aboitiz, AEV President and Chief Executive Officer.

“After the Aboitiz Invitational, we have another exciting sports event lined up: the Aboitiz TRI2015 that will take place on September 12 at the scenic Pico de Loro in Batangas. We are especially thrilled that we have a record participation of 35 Aboitiz team members joining the triathlon,” Aboitiz added.

The annual Aboitiz Invitational—which kicked off with a Pro-Am tournament last August 3—will welcome the region’s talented players who will compete for honors in the $100,000 ADT event at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club, Legends course from August 5 to 8.

The Aboitiz Invitational brings the total to a record 24 tournaments on the ADT schedule this season. Since its inauguration in 2010, the ADT has grown from five events in the first year to 21 last year before recording 24 tournaments so far this season.