Tabuena debuts in Samsung jungolf circuit

Fresh from clinching his first major crown in the Sarawak Junior World Masters in Malaysia, Miguel Tabuena will hardly have the time to rest as he joins the field for the second leg of the Samsung Jungolf Tour tomorrow at the Faldo course of the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Gen. Trias, Cavite.

It will be the eight-year-old Tabuena’s debut in the summer circuit after he had missed the first two legs at Aguinaldo and Baguio due to his campaign in Kuching, Malaysia where he delivered the first big strike for local jungolfers abroad this season.

All of the five age-group classifications of the 54-hole tourney also given major backing by Philippine Airlines, Airlift Asia, Air Liquide Phils., Global Lighting and Exito Manufacturing will feature the current top guns in a major showdown looming at the hazard-laden, wind-lashed course which is one of the four inside the country’s biggest golf complex.

With Wilson Sports Philippines coming as the equipment sponsor for the leg through its general manager Jun Jun Plana, special prizes await the top performers of the tourney also serving as the final warmup to the Junior World qualifier at Southwoods and Riviera on April 22-25.

Division winners of last week’s well-attended John Hay leg, meanwhile, will be out to score repeat wins.

They are Ian Rey Intal and Katrina Gonzales in Class A (15-17 years), Magnum Bakunawa and Gerileen Handog in Class B (13-14), Jordan Mamaril and Mia Piccio in Class C (11-12), Dottie Ardina and Wolen Juan Superal in Class D (9-10) and Bino dela Paz and Christina Potenciano in Class E (8-under).

Jungolf president Gerry Handog announced that starting with the Eagle Ridge leg, entries will be pre-registered with the last Friday before each tournament as the deadline. When registration ended Friday, there were already 110 confirmed entries and they will be teeing off on both nines starting 7 a.m. tomorrow.

"We encourage parents and guardians to pre-register to avoid losing their slots for the coming legs," Handog said who at the same time expressed his gratitude to the management of Eagle Ridge led by its project director Winifred Gob for accommodating the event.

Counting the Philippine Airlines Interclub which served as the circuit opener, Ardina, Superal, Handog and Mia Piccio have clean 2-0 winning records.

Bellevue Manila, Third World Eximport, HBW Ent., MCCI Corp. and BF Technology are minor sponsors of the tour.