MANILA, Philippines — Without top gun Miguel Tabuena, former champion Angelo Que spearheads the 27-strong local contingent out to challenge foreign dominance led by Asian Tour derby leaders Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand and Travis Smyth of Australia in the 108th Philippine Open firing off tomorrow at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club.
The 47-year-old Que carries the nation’s hope as the current No. 1 player in the Philippine Golf Tour in a bid to replicate his run 18 years ago at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong.
And that comes with a larger responsibility, no matter where he is in the the Asian rankings, as some of the world’s best swingers converge at the heart of the Philippines once more for the oldest national golf open in the continent.
It’s also the biggest edition to date with a whopping $1 million purse made possible by the National Golf Association of the Philippines headed by Al Panlilio and the Philippine Sports Commission led by chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio.
“Playing at home is a bigger pressure,” said Que, left as the torchbearer for Filipino golfers in the 132-player field after Tabuena suffered a left hand injury in Macao last October.
Tabuena, an Olympian and multiple Philippine Golf Tour champion, is still in recovery from a radial collateral ligament (RCL) tear in his left thumb, forcing him to retire from the Hong Kong Open last month after just 13 holes and eventually pulling out of the national open.
Que, a silver medalist in the 1998 Asian Games, promises to pour it all even against tough, younger opposition led by Tangkamolprasert and Smyth.