The country’s top guns set out for the ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic tomorrow (Wednesday), hard-pressed to come up with a victory or be at the receiving end of another sweep by the Asian Development Tour campaigners for the second straight year.

“We really have to step up. They’ve (foreign players) been dominating us when it should be the other way around, given our local knowledge of the courses,” said Tony Lascuña, also raring to atone for his mediocre joint 30th finish at ICTSI Manila Southwoods last week, the first of two ADT stops in the country.

Malaysian Arie Irawan and Thai Ittiphat Buranatanyarat swept the ADT events at Eagle Ridge and Sherwood last year and though the duo aren’t returning to defend their respective titles, another Malaysian, Gavin Green, ruled Southwoods stop in a wild finish last Saturday.

So outclassed were the Pinoys that no local player made it to the top 10 with reigning local Order of Merit winner Miguel Tabuena finishing at joint 13th in the 10th leg of the ADT.

Tabuena won’t be around to honor a commitment to play on the Asian Tour in Japan, also slated this week along with Angelo Que and Japan-based Juvic Pagunsan, leaving Lascuña as the spearhead of the local challenge in the fourth stage of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

“I’ve been working on my putting and I hope to finally put it all together this week. Sana manalo uli,” said Lascuña, who will lead a select group of local and foreign pros in today’s (Tuesday) pro-am along with officials and guests of the event’s chief backers, including Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Sharp, Summit, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade and Champion.

Green is also passing up the chance for a back-to-back feat to compete in Japan but the foreign roster remains as tough as ever with American John Michael O’Toole looming as the top bet following a joint fourth finish at Southwoods.

The 23-year-old O’Toole, who scored a breakthrough ADT win at Clearwater Masters in Malaysia last month, actually led after three rounds at Southwoods but succumbed to final round pressure, enabling Green to snatch the crown in a thrilling backside duel with Thai Donlaphatchai and Singapore’s Koh Deng Shan.

Others tipped to contend for the top $10,500 purse in the 72-hole championship co-organized by the ADT and Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. are Japanese Shunya Takeyasu and Masaru Takahashi, Josh Salah, Jarin Todd, Greg Moss and Blake Snyder of the US, Janne Kaske of Finland, Aussies Jake Stirling and Jordan Sherratt, Scot James Byrne, Eugene Sim of Singapore and New Zealand’s Sean Riordan,

Backing up Lascuna are Mars Pucay, Mhark Fernando, Zanieboy Gialon, Keanu Jahns, Rolando Marabe, Jhonnel Ababa, Clyde Mondilla, Jay Bayron, Rufino Bayron, Elmer Salvador, Marvin Dumandan, Michael Bibat and Cassius Casas.