Dumandan, Aunzo try to put OneAsia failed bids behind

CANLUBANG, Laguna – It's back to the drawing board for Marvin Dumandan and Ferdie Aunzo after both failed in their bids for an eligibility card in the OneAsia Qualifying School held a few days ago at the Mission Hills in Haikou, China. Antonio Asistio II got his eligibility card as he placed 26th with two others. The top 40, according to OneAsia, will be given priority for tour cards. Dumandan and Aunzo headed back to their home course, The Country Club (TCC), to fix their respective swing problems in preparation for the upcoming TCC Invitational, the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour's (PGT) kickoff leg for the 2011 season. Putting will be the priority for Dumandan, last year's three-time PGT winner. He had a terrible time stroking the ball into the hole – as evidenced in the OneAsia Q-School final round when he putted 36 times. A few days after, Dumandan immediately changed the grip of his trusted putter and will test it for a week at the TCC. "My drives and short games are holding up, but not the putting. It was a terrible number (36). It's like giving up one shot every hole," said the ever-smiling Dumandan. Aunzo, one of the best Filipino amateurs, didn't perform well either, blaming the bite-frost winds and almost sub-zero chill at the Mission Hills' Sandbelt Trails course. "I and the other Filipinos wore about three shirts beneath our jackets. It was that cold," he said. Dumandan, Aunzo and Asistio are among those who will try to outgun defending champion Angelo Que for the TCC Invitational title. Asian Tour veterans Artemio Murakami, Juvic Pagunsan, Mars Pucay, Antonio Lascuna and PGT Order of Merit (OOM) champ Jay Bayron are in the field for the P1-M event. The cream of the crop in the amateur level will feature Dante Becierra and Peter Villaber as well as recent ladies open winner Chihiro Ikeda and runner-up Dottie Ardina.