The foreign contingent competing in the 108th Philippine Open presented by the Philippine Sports Commission will be packed with firepower, with former Asian Tour Order of Merit winners John Catlin of the United States and Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand leading the field.
The 2026 season finale of the Asian Tour will begin on Nov. 12 at the Masters Course of Manila Southwoods, with Catlin and Janewattananond still in contention for their second OOM titles. Both can challenge Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert for the No. 1 spot with a victory.
Catlin, meanwhile, will head to the Philippines seeking his seventh national open title, adding another milestone to his already impressive résumé at one of Asia’s oldest national opens.
“You know, anytime you can win a national open, I think it just adds a little bit of extra prestige,” Catlin, who has also won national opens in Australia, England, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Ireland, said after triumphing in Hong Kong last May. “Anytime you can win a national open is just incredible.”
Catlin won twice during his OOM-winning campaign in 2024, including a memorable triumph in Macau, where he recorded the Asian Tour’s first sub-60 round with a 59 in the third round. He finished regulation at 23-under before defeating David Puig on the first hole of sudden death in the International Series event.
The Asian Tour has announced that the top 20 players in the OOM standings are committed to competing in the $1-million (approximately P64 million) championship, where Tangkamolprasert will attempt to cap a long career by claiming the season-long crown for the first time.
Australia’s Travis Smyth sits second in the standings, while South African Ian Syman is aiming to close the season with the second victory of his career after breaking through in Taiwan last May.
Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho, who sits fifth behind Catlin, is also chasing his second victory of the season. The 2023 Asian Tour Rookie of the Year previously ruled the International Series event in Morocco, which has since been discontinued.
Miguel Tabuena is the highest-ranked Filipino in the field, sitting at No. 447 in the world rankings. He will be looking to build on his most recent victory on Philippine soil, which came at his home course, Sta. Elena Golf Club, nearly 14 months ago.
A full field of 132 players will tee off on Nov. 12, with the Philippines expected to be represented by as many as 29 competitors.
Angelo Que, who topped the local Philippine Golf Tour’s OOM after a solid finish in Friday’s season finale at Apo Golf, will be among three former Philippine Open champions in the field. The other two are Singapore’s Mardan Mamat and American Berry Henson, who defeated Jay Bayron at Wack Wack’s East Course more than a decade ago.
