Miguel Tabuena will always be a threat regardless of what form he wields.
Despite dismal performances in his last two tournaments, the Filipino ace has been installed one of the favorites in the ICTSI Forest Hills Championship blasting off Wednesday at Forest Hills Golf and Country Club in Antipolo.
The 22-year-old former Philippine Open champion is coming off a joint 47th finish in the Lyoness Open in Austria and a missed cut stint at the Queens Cup in Thailand last week, but the consensus is he’ll still be the man to watch.
A break in the foreign circuits made Tabuena available for this week’s Philippine Golf Tour battle, where he will be pitted with reigning OOM champion Tony Lascuña and Zanieboy Gialon, winner of the last PGT leg at Calatagan two weeks ago, in the 8 a.m. flight of the first round.
“My opponents are heavyweights,” said Gialon, who beat Jhonnel Ababa by six shots to snap a three-year title spell in the circuit sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. “But I’m ready and hope to deliver again.”
Lascuña is also raring to end a string of runner-up finishers in the first half of the 14-leg tour.
Angelo Que, runaway winner in this year’s PGT kickoff leg at Anvaya, has earlier confirmed his participation but withdrew at the last minute to take a rest following a series of tournaments in the Japan PGA Tour, and the Queens Cup, where he finished tied for sixth.
Other strong contenders are two-leg winner Clyde Mondilla and veterans Jay Bayron, Elmer Salvador, Frankie Miñoza, Rufino Bayron and Mars Pucay
American Nicolas Paez, Korean Park Jun Sung, Aussie Nathan Park and Macedonian Peter Stojanovski are also out to spoil the local aces’ title drive in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. —ROY LUARCA