
Shah Alam: Teen titan Miguel Tabuena hopes to realise his dreams of becoming an Asian Tour winner as he prepares intensely for next week’s Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters.
The 17-year-old Filipino has endured a roller-coaster ride in his burgeoning professional career with several close title shaves leaving him dejected. But he has also displayed his full potential with a couple of eye-catching victories on his domestic Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) against top stars such as reigning Asian Tour number one Juvic Pagunsan, Frankie Minoza and Angelo Que.
With his gung-ho attitude, Tabuena, who represents an exciting breed of new talent in the region, is not afraid of talking up his chances on the Asian Tour which many seasoned campaigners are still searching for an elusive first win. “I think I’m playing pretty good at the moment. I hope to play in the bigger events and hope to win one tournament in the next few months. I don’t’ want to be in the same position as last year,” said Tabuena.
The bubbly Filipino was referring to his bitter experience of missing out on a full Asian Tour card in his rookie year last season by a mere US$250 on the final Order of Merit.
Despite the adversity, he has shown an ability to bounce back. Tabuena contended in his home championship, the ICTSI Philippine Open in February when he entered the final round one shot behind leader Mardan Mamat of Singapore but faded badly on the last day with a disappointing 81.
Then at the Queen’s Cup in Thailand in June, the tenacious Tabuena was the joint third round leader but again missed out on his first Asian Tour title with a closing 76 to finish tied 10th. He reckons the more often he knocks on the door, it will eventually lead to a first triumph on the region’s elite circuit.
Tabuena, who is going through his high school education through home-schooling, said he has learned from those lessons. “It’s just a different ball game going into the last day. I haven’t reached that yet but I’m learning. I have many more years and many more golf tournaments,” he said.
To prepare for a hectic run of tournaments, Tabuena competed in three events on the Asian Development Tour recently, finishing tied 12th in the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship last week. What came out from his Taipei trip was he discovered a new putting technique, which he hopes will see him rolling in the putts at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club next week.
“I’ve been working on my putting, trying to sharpen my putting. In Taipei last week, the first day was really windy and I widened my stance a bit and I putted so much better. I maintained the technique and had only one three putt the whole week which was pretty good,” said Tabuena.
“I’m really looking forward to next week. I’ve also been working on my fitness and I’m just excited to play in the second half of the year,” he added.