GUANGZHOU—Men’s golf coach Tommy Manotoc could have taken Miguel Tabuena’s victory Saturday and slapped it in the faces of the critics who sniped at him for jotting the teenager’s name in the men’s team.
Instead, he’s showing it around as proof that he’s following the right blueprint.
“I really don’t want to look at this as a vindication,” said Manotoc. “This is more of a validation of the program that we have put together. Miguel’s victory is a victory for men’s (amateur) golf.”
Tabuena fired a solid even-par 72 Saturday to wind up with the silver medal in the men’s individual golf competition, the only medal the sport delivered for the country in the ongoing 16th Asian Games.
The medal was the highest since 1986, when Ramon Brobio won the gold in the Seoul Asiad, and it gave birth to a young star who can now anchor the men’s team in tournaments to come.
“I now know I can compete with men,” said the 16-year-old Tabuena. “This really gives me a lot of confidence going into future tournaments for the Philippine team.
“He’s going to be around for quite some time (before turning pro),” said Manotoc.
Manotoc first took notice of Tabuena when the home-schooled golfer, who turned 16 only last month, finished fifth in the Junior World in San Diego last July. He inserted Tabuena in the Putra Cup roster and the teenager acquitted himself well.
But never in his wildest dreams did Manotoc imagine Tabuena would reach this far this early.
“He’s 16 and it’s his first Asiad,” Manotoc said. “It’s a huge achievement.”
“I’m shocked I won the silver,” Tabuena said.
Hopefully, as Manotoc believes, there’ll be more jaw-dropping moments for the kid as part of the men’s team.
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