Tabuena closer to Order of Merit title

MIGUEL Tabuena moved ominously close to the Philippine Golf Tour’s Order of Merit crown following his come-from-behind victory in the ICTSI Open Championship at Wack Wack’s fabled East course over the weekend.

Tabuena pulled off his third victory of the season, worth P650,000 in prize money, that allowed him to wrest the OOM lead back from the veteran Antonio Lascuña heading into the last two legs of the circuit.

The 20-year-old Nike endorser jacked up his total earnings to P2,601,917, including fat bonanzas from victories in the Splendido and Rancho Palos Verdes stops.

Lascuña slid back to second in the OOM race with P2,334,960 and needs to finish a lot better than Tabuena in this week’s inaugural P2.5-million Central de Azucarera Open at Luisita to keep the money title.

Lascuña and Angelo Que, who dropped to third in the OOM with P2,272,131, each won P335,000 for sharing second at Wack Wack.

Que is not playing this week.

Because Tabuena, Lascuña and Que have all committed to play in the Asia Pacific Open Mitsubishi Diamond Cup in Japan—scheduled in the same week as the local tour’s season-ending Tournament Players Championship at Sherwood Hills—the Luisita stop should determine the 2015 OOM champion.

The rest of the OOM’s top 10 players: Elmer Salvador P1,310,729, Orlan Sumcad P1,081,082, Jay Bayron 1,069,186, Clyde Modilla P964,336, Cassius Casas P751,847, Charles Hong P660,915 and Zanie Boy Gialon P625,658. Inquirer Golf Monthly