Tabuena hangs tough in Order of Merit derby

MANILA, Philippines - Miguel Tabuena’s fiery final round charge at ICTSI Classic at Mt. Malarayat last week kept the ace teener atop the Order of Merit, thwarting off reigning champion Tony Lascuña and a charging Angelo Que after nine legs of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour.

Tabuena closed out with an eight-under 64 to salvage fourth place behind Thai winner Sattaya Supupramai, Lascuña and Que, his P144,984 hiking his total earnings to P1,134,027 heading to the ICTSI Tagaytay Midlands Challenge organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. next week.

Lascuña, who dominated last year’s circuit with two victories and four runner-up finishes, earned P297,735 last week to close in on Tabuena with P1,112,332 while Que also pressed his bid for a first-ever OOM title with P1,018,776 after winning P181,230 at Mt. Malarayat.

That makes the battle at Midlands on Aug. 14-16 doubly interesting with Tabuena hoping to pad his lead again and Lascuña and Que trying to overtake the 17-year-old wonder, who ruled the kickoff leg at Sherwood and finished second in the next leg at John Hay.

Elmer Salvador, boosted by his victory at Aboitiz Invitational and a runner-up finish at ICTSI Pueblo De Oro Championship, moved up to fourth in the OOM ranking, piling up winnings of P932,276 while Jay Bayron, out to end a long slump following a come-from-behind win at John Hay last April, is in fifth with P738,870.

Carl Santos-Ocampo, still in search of a first win in two years, is in sixth with P577,068 while Frankie Miñoza barged into top 10 with his back-to-back title romps at ICTSI Del Monte and ICTSI Pueblo, moving to seventh with P493,936 despite missing four legs this season.

Jhonnel Ababa is at eighth with P445,238 while ICTSI Rancho Palos Verdes champion Michael Bibat pooled earnings of P441,254 for ninth and Edward Reyes is in 10th with P411,849.

Meanwhile, the leading pros gear up for the ICTSI Midlands tournament with the traditional pro-am set Aug. 13 at the wind-raked, up-and-down layout.