TAT Filipinas Golf Club, San Pedro, Laguna, Philippines

May 11, 2010: 17 year-old Jobim Carlos will be confident of booking a return trip to the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final when the 2nd Faldo Series Philippines Championship returns to TAT Filipinas Golf Club in San Pedro, Laguna, on May 24-26.

The teenager from Bulacan stormed to a nine-shot victory in last year’s inaugural championship at TAT Filipinas, a club located 30 minutes drive from Manila and known for its environmental sustainability and social programmes.

The win earned Carlos a place in the Grand Final at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China, last March where, watched by Sir Nick Faldo, he recovered from a nervy first-round 87 on the Faldo Course to post two consecutive 74s and finish as the leading Filipino player in the 54-hole R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking event.

A field of more than 80 talented young golfers from The Philippines and further afield are expected to take part at TAT Filipinas in the first of nine ‘open’ championships on the 2010/2011 Faldo Series Asia schedule.  Boys and girls aged 12 to 21 will benefit from top level competition under strict tournament conditions over three rounds as well as expert advice from guest speakers.  The field will be divided into five age categories, three for boys (Under-21, Under-18 and Under-16) and two for girls (Under-21 and Under-16), and the winner of each category will join six-time Major winner Faldo at Mission Hills next March for the 5th Grand Final.

As with all Faldo Series Asia tournaments, younger children from the local community will also gain access to golf at the Philippines Championship through a programme of grass-roots activities and the chance to watch the competitors in action.

Underwritten by Faldo himself, the Faldo Series Asia is supported by major partners ISPS, Mission Hills and The R&A as well as official golf wear partner Alpine Creations.  It is also endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Federation (APGC).

Further to the success of the Faldo Series Europe, launched in 1996, the Faldo Series Asia was established in 2006 to bring opportunities to young people in Asia and to help develop the region’s next generation of champions.  Over 30 tournaments now take place in more than 25 countries across the UK, Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia and former winners include recent PGA Tour and Ladies European Tour champions, Rory McIlroy and Melissa Reid, European Tour winners Nick Dougherty and Marc Warren, India’s number one amateur Rashid Khan and Chinese Taipei’s two-time LPGA Major winner Yani Tseng.

The 2010/2011 Faldo Series Asia schedule features a record 17 tournaments in 12 different countries including six in mainland China plus others in The Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Thailand.

The 2009/2010 Faldo Series Asia boys’ title was won by 14 year-old Masamichi Ito from Japan with Thidapa Suwannapura, 17, of Thailand claiming the girls’ crown.  Both will be invited to play in a professional tournament on the Asian Tour and Ladies European Tour respectively.  They have also earned exemptions into the Faldo Series Europe Grand Final, to be played over the Faldo Course at the Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland on September 21-23.

NickFaldo.com