Tabuena upbeat on Phl's Asiad bid

MANILA, Philippines - Miguel Tabuena took his first swing with a plastic golf club when he was one year and eight months old. At five, he finished third in his first golf tournament at the Aguinaldo course and at nine, topped his age group in his first international victory in Kota Kinabalu. Today, he is 16 and the wunderkind is the youngest of the four-man Philippine golf team competing at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou on Nov. 12-27.

“We’re going for gold,” said Tabuena who joins Jerson Balasabas, Mark Fernando and cousin Marcel Puyat in the men’s squad. “The competition will be tough. We expect a strong showing f1rom Japan, South Korea, Thailand and host China. But we’ll be in the thick of it.”

Aside from the men, the Philippines is represented by Chihiro Ikeda, Mia Piccio and Dottie Ardina in women’s golf. Four golds are up for grabs in the sport – individual men, team men, individual women and team women.

At the last Asian Games in Doha, South Korea swept all four gold medals with the Philippines bagging a bronze through Michael Bibat in individual men. Since golf was introduced at the 1982 Asian Games, the Philippines has collected one gold medal (Ramon Brobio, individual men, 1986), three silvers (individual men, 1990 and 1998, Gerald Rosales, individual men, 1998) and seven bronzes (team men, 1986, Brobio, individual men, 1990, Jamine Jose, individual women, 1990, team women, 1990, 1996, 2002, Bibat, individual men, 2006) from the sport.

Two coaches Tommy Manotoc and Anthony Lopez are listed in the official golf delegation.

“I’m learning from my teammates and I hope they’re learning something from me, too,” said Tabuena, the country’s No. 2 amateur parbuster behind Fernando. “I bring a lot of enthusiasm to the game. I like to think I’m fun to be with, like my dad (Luigi). We’ve got experience and youth in our team. I’m just on my second year with the national team and of course, I’m nervous. I’m always nervous when representing our country. I just want to play my best.”

Tabuena, a second year high school student doing home studies supervised by the Masters Academy, pointed to Manotoc as the heart and soul of the delegation.

“Coach Tommy is our motivator,” he said. “He’s played in all the major amateur events. My goal is to play a steady round, like a stopper. I’m not a distance hitter, just a straight hitter. I won’t go high and won’t go low. I’ll do the average and let the other guys take the risks and make mistakes. I think my putting is my strong suit and I rate it nine on a scale of one to 10. On the other hand, my cousin Marcel is a long hitter with tremendous length. Coach Tommy has developed Mark and Jesse who have really improved their game.”

At the Putra Cup last year, Tabuena and his Philippine national teammates finished second to Thailand in the country’s best finish since winning the crown in 1996. And at the Asian Amateur Championships in Kawagoe, Japan, last month, Tabuena and Puyat were tied at No. 19 for the best Filipino placers among over 400 competitors.

“I don’t consider the Asian Championships a good gauge of how we’ll do in Guangzhou,” said Tabuena whose late grandfather Luis was a star basketball player with the Letran NCAA champion team called Murder Inc. in 1950 and former Games and Amusements Board chairman. “We were struggling with the rain, wind and cold. We never got our game going. It’ll be different in Guangzhou. We expect chilly conditions but I don’t think the weather will be a problem.”

Tabuena said his father Luigi was his first golf instructor who taught him the basics. Now, he beats his father consistently on the course. His mother Lorna is also a golfer. Whenever and wherever he plays, his parents are around to provide moral support. The youngest of five children, Tabuena said his brother Luigi and sisters Michelle, Denise and Danielle also encourage him to excel.

Tabuena’s first pro coach was Noel Macutay, now based in Los Angeles. His current coach is Canadian Rick Gibson, a former Asian tour pro..

“Before I hit 20, I probably will turn pro,” said Tabuena. “I’m hoping to get a golf scholarship in a US college like Marcel who’s in Stanford. I have a strong mental game. Coach Tommy always reminds me never to panic on a bad shot and always stay in the game. My golf idol is Tiger Woods because I grew up watching him play on TV, winning the big tournaments and changing the game. But in terms of personality, I like Phil Mickelson, the way he interacts with the gallery, the way he speaks with the crowd.”

Tabuena’s ultimate golf dream is to win at least one of the majors – US Open, British Open, PGA Open and the Masters.

“I love this game,” said Tabuena. “I can see myself playing until I’m really old. I’ve been lucky in that not a lot of boys my age have seen as much of the world as I have playing the game I love. My way of giving back for this blessing is to play my best so that hopefully, it inspires someone out there to pick up the game and dream my dream.”