Angelo Que will come to TCC well prepared. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
It’s been a long wait for Angelo Que as far as a home soil victory is concerned, and the 46-year-old has two chances later this month to snap that.
With the Philippine Open and 20th edition of the rich The Country Club (TCC) Invitational up in a two-week span, Que, being a former champion of both, has all sorts of things going for him with a record fourth title in the TCC a big motivation for him come Jan. 28.
“I think my chances are good. I’ve been preparing for it,” said Que of his TCC bid where he leads an elite list of players from the Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) with exclusive invites to the P6-million event put up by golf godfather Enrique K. Razon.
The TCC is the biggest local tournament, played over 72 demanding holes at ultralong, windswept The Country Club layout in Laguna, which Razon himself redesigned to make for probably the most brutal test in the land.
Antonio Lascuña, the winner of the second edition over Que, interestingly enough, will come into that week as the defending champion. The 54-year-old beat out powerhouse Miguel Tabuena last year to touch off a fifth Order of Merit win last season.
Que won in 2007 and back-to-back from 2010, but has won at home since the 2017 ICTSI Classic at Mount Malarayat in Lipa.
Only the top 30 players from the last PGT season, and past champions, have invites for the TCC, and heading the list of challengers—with 2017 champ Tabuena reportedly skipping the event to play in the International Series—are 2022 champion Guido Van Der Valk of the Netherlands and another former PH Open champ in Clyde Mondilla.