Young Miguel seizes silver; PH team fifth
GUANGZHOU—For the second straight day, Miguel Tabuena came under siege and looked as if he would fall off the podium after leading the men’s golf competition up to its halfway mark.
But displaying a maturity beyond his years, the jungolf hotshot held on to second place, holding off a hard-charging Taiwanese and staying steady when a record-setting Thailand began showing nerves to grab a silver medal in the 16th Asian Games at the Dragon Lake Golf Club Saturday.
“I just didn’t give up until the last hole,” said Tabuena, who shot an even 72 for the day to finish at six under for the tournament, nine shots behind Korean gold medalist Kim Meen Whee.
And he did need the very last hole to wrap up the country’s best finish in men’s individual golf since Ramon Brobio won the gold in 1986 in Seoul. A day after Kim dislodged him from the top spot and Thai ace Atthachai Jaichalad nearly gobbled him up with a course record 65, Tabuena faced another challenge when Chinese-Taipei’s Hung Chien Yao torched the fairways and caught up with Tabuena through 12 holes. Hung finished with a 69, including a bogey on the last hole that ended up as Tabuena’s salvation. And Tabuena nearly blew it when, carrying a two-shot lead in his last final holes, his tee shot sailed short in the 17th and wound up with a bogey. But the home-schooled teenager kept his nerve and parred his final hole to preserve his one shot lead and the silver medal. “I knew I was only fighting for the silver so I really just tried to keep the ball in play and attacked only when I could,” said Tabuena. Hung eventually settled for the bronze medal. Atthachai buckled in the back nine and wound up with a 74 for fourth place at three under for the tournament. “I’m really shocked,” he added. “Not all 16-year-olds can say they won a silver medal in golf in the Asian Games. I’m just proud that I represented my country well.” “It’s a big win for men’s golf,” said coach Tommy Manotoc. “Nobody gave us a chance to do anything or get anywhere as far as men’s golf is concerned.” The men’s team actually nearly pulled off a surprise. It was in second place—alone or in a tie—going into the final round. But India and Chinese Taipei made one last push and overtook the PH squad; India pooled a 10 over card to finish second behind Korea’s 22 under dominance. The Taiwanese finished third at 11 over. The Philippines slipped to fifth at 13 over. Chichiro Ikeda fired an even 72 and finished in a tie for 10th—the best among Filipino girls—and two the women’s team to a sixth-place finish with a 25 over aggregate, 41 strokes off the Korean women’s team.
But displaying a maturity beyond his years, the jungolf hotshot held on to second place, holding off a hard-charging Taiwanese and staying steady when a record-setting Thailand began showing nerves to grab a silver medal in the 16th Asian Games at the Dragon Lake Golf Club Saturday.
“I just didn’t give up until the last hole,” said Tabuena, who shot an even 72 for the day to finish at six under for the tournament, nine shots behind Korean gold medalist Kim Meen Whee.
And he did need the very last hole to wrap up the country’s best finish in men’s individual golf since Ramon Brobio won the gold in 1986 in Seoul. A day after Kim dislodged him from the top spot and Thai ace Atthachai Jaichalad nearly gobbled him up with a course record 65, Tabuena faced another challenge when Chinese-Taipei’s Hung Chien Yao torched the fairways and caught up with Tabuena through 12 holes. Hung finished with a 69, including a bogey on the last hole that ended up as Tabuena’s salvation. And Tabuena nearly blew it when, carrying a two-shot lead in his last final holes, his tee shot sailed short in the 17th and wound up with a bogey. But the home-schooled teenager kept his nerve and parred his final hole to preserve his one shot lead and the silver medal. “I knew I was only fighting for the silver so I really just tried to keep the ball in play and attacked only when I could,” said Tabuena. Hung eventually settled for the bronze medal. Atthachai buckled in the back nine and wound up with a 74 for fourth place at three under for the tournament. “I’m really shocked,” he added. “Not all 16-year-olds can say they won a silver medal in golf in the Asian Games. I’m just proud that I represented my country well.” “It’s a big win for men’s golf,” said coach Tommy Manotoc. “Nobody gave us a chance to do anything or get anywhere as far as men’s golf is concerned.” The men’s team actually nearly pulled off a surprise. It was in second place—alone or in a tie—going into the final round. But India and Chinese Taipei made one last push and overtook the PH squad; India pooled a 10 over card to finish second behind Korea’s 22 under dominance. The Taiwanese finished third at 11 over. The Philippines slipped to fifth at 13 over. Chichiro Ikeda fired an even 72 and finished in a tie for 10th—the best among Filipino girls—and two the women’s team to a sixth-place finish with a 25 over aggregate, 41 strokes off the Korean women’s team.
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