The Philippine Open will stage the biggest edition in its 108-year history starting Thursday, and no man — or agency — is prouder than Al Panlilio and the National Golf Association of the Philippines for making it happen.
With $1 million (around P64 million) at stake, this year’s edition — which will be held at Manila Southwoods Masters for the second consecutive year — boasts the richest purse in the tournament’s history. The best players on the Asian Tour are expected to compete, alongside a handful of foreign bets looking to secure an Order of Merit victory.
After helping revive the Open last year as NGAP chair, 63-year-old Panlilio continues to build on his legacy in Philippine sports. He was also at the forefront of the country’s hosting of the FIBA Basketball World Cup a few years ago, when he headed the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
A former basketball player at Ateneo before developing a passion for golf during his well-documented corporate career, Panlilio is currently serving his first year of his two-year term as NGAP president. Among his primary objectives is to unite the local golf community behind a national team program that he hopes to revive, with the establishment of a National Training Center serving as a key component.
“That’s the ultimate plan, the legacy I want to leave at the NGAP–this will be a game-changer for the sport,” said Panlilio, who revealed that the NTC is expected to rise in the very near future. The facility will provide players with the potential opportunity to train and receive coaching geared toward high-level competition.
During his time with the SBP, Panlilio and other basketball stakeholders worked together to strengthen the Gilas Pilipinas program. Their efforts resulted in sustained appearances in the FIBA World Cup, the Philippines’ return to the top of Asian basketball with its Asian Games gold medal after six decades, and a continued push to qualify for the Olympics.
“The NTC for golf will make sure that our national athletes are well taken care of,” Panlilio said. “Our target would be to make sure that the Philippines returns to being the yardstick in our region and to make Olympics stints in golf a regular fare.”
Funding will be critical to realizing that vision. One of Panlilio and the NGAP’s first major moves was to channel most of the additional fees collected from handicapping earlier this year toward the Philippine Team program.
“There’s no better way to do that than make every golfer in the country a stakeholder,” he said. “And we at the NGAP will be responsible for making that happen. We will be answerable to our stakeholders. That’s why we want to make the national team click again.”
For now, however, Panlilio’s attention is on the Philippine Open, where he will be cheering for a Filipino contender to claim the title at Manila Southwoods Masters. He is also looking to make the tournament even more prestigious and lucrative in the coming years through a partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission, led by Chair Patrick Gregorio.
“We will definitely hold it again next year and beyond,” Panlilio said. “We will try our best to make it bigger because this tournament is held in such high regard because of its history.”
