Tabuena among top RWM contenders

MIGUEL Tabuena, after failing to crash  Stage 2 of the US PGA Qualifying, resumes his quest for a first international win in two weeks in the $750,000 Resorts World Masters at Manila Southwoods in Carmona, Cavite.

The teen sensation, whose first two wins as a pro came in the fledgling ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour, is among a handful of Filipinos tipped to crowd a star-studded foreign field for the crown at the Masters layout.

And Tabuena believes that missing the second stage in the United States could be a blessing for him, for it gave him the time to come home and join the best of the Asian Tour in the Cavite event.

“Yes, I learned a lot from the Q-School even though it wasn’t the result that I wanted,” Tabuena said.  “If I made it through that Stage 1, I would have missed the RWM Masters.  So maybe, it’s my time.”

Along with Tabuena, expected to carry the fight for the Philippines are Antonio Lascuña and Angelo Que, members at Southwoods who know the well-manicured layout like the back of their hands.

Lascuña, in fact, won the last ICTSI leg held at the Masters, conquering the dreaded layout with a 21-under total over 72 holes to win handily. On Saturday, he again sampled the course and scored the sixth ace of his career on the par-3 sixth hole.

Taiwanese veteran Lin Wen-tang, who won the Philippine Open at Wack Wack East last April, is also in the field and is seeking to go 2-for-2 in the country this year.

“Winning definitely makes me like the country more,” said Lin.  Musong R. Castillo