De Los Santos finds belief ahead of ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament

Justin De Los Santos heads to Fukuoka for the ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament with plenty of optimism following a top-10 finish at the BMW JGT Championship Mori Building Cup last week.

And the 27-year-old Filipino is eager to continue riding on his recent solid run of form to excel at the ASO Iizuka Golf Club next.

Following a difficult start to the season which saw him miss three cuts in four outings, De Los Santos recovered strongly to chalk up T14 and T19 finishes at Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament and Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open.

He then followed it up with a T9 at the JGTO flagship tournament on Sunday for his best result yet for this year.

De Los Santos does not need to look far for inspiration as he can certainly count on guidance from his fellow countryman Juvic Pagunsan, whom he regards as a mentor.

Just three weeks ago, Pagunsan reminded De Los Santos once again that the Filipinos do have what it takes to excel on JGTO after winning the Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament for his second Tour triumph.

"(Pagunsan) He's always been really good to me, and I guess, in a sense, sort of kind of taking me under his wing a little bit, I guess," said De Los Santos.

"He's always good, and it's good to see him be successful out here, too. I'm so happy."

Although he recorded a couple of top-four finishes last season at the Gateway to The Open and For The Players by The Players, the closest shot De Los Santos has had at the JGTO breakthrough was during the ISPS HANDA Championship last year.

Then, he went into the final day as a joint leader but eventually settled for tied sixth position.

The most successful Filipino ever graced the JGTO was the legendary Frankie Minoza.

He boasts seven Tour titles under his belt in between 1990 and 2007, with the Mynavi ABC Championships being the last title he captured when he was 48.

Tomoyo Ikemura will be defending his ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament crown after emerging as the inaugural winner last year.

The eyebrow-raising word "Challenged" in the tournament's name was meant to promote independence and social participation for people with disabilities.

This was the reason why ASO Group and JGTO were putting together this ground-breaking tournament last year – to make a difference to these groups of people and inspire them.

Headquartered in Iizuka City, Fukuoka, the ASO Group is a renowned Japanese conglomerate with 150 years of history in the field of infrastructure, environmental solutions, medical and healthcare, education and lifestyle services.

They have been a strong advocate for people with disabilities by actively funding the annual Iizuka International Wheelchair Tennis Championships since 1985, which has since evolved into a top-tier event on the ITF's UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour.

ASO Group has also been supporting competitive athletes with disabilities by providing them with employment opportunities under the "C's Athlete" initiative, with the letter "C" standing for challengers so that they could strike a balance between work and training.

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