Tabuena competes in Asian Tour
Stymied in his Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) Q-School drive in the United States, Miguel Tabuena shifts his focus to the Asian Tour as he rejoins the region’s premier circuit making its restart in Thailand next month.
Slowed down by a couple of 74s, Tabuena fell short of his bid in the fourstage event that provides membership access on the PGA Tour farm league for all players who will advance to the final phase, ending up at 37th despite a late rally of 67 in the recent Nevada satellite qualifying.
Although he regained some push with a second round 68, he stumbled with another 74 in moving day before closing out with that five-under card.
But the Asian Tour announced early last week of its resumption following a long 18-month hiatus due to pandemic and travel restrictions, giving the likes of Tabuena reasons to seriously train again and hopes to gain more experience in pursuit of golfing glory in the region and elsewhere.
The ICTSI-backed Tabuena had high hopes of hurdling the KFT eliminations’ first stage coming off an imposing victory in the Idaho Open but fumbled in the opening day with a two-over card.
Although he regained some push with a second round 68, he stumbled with another 74 in moving day before closing out with that five-under card.
The setback, however, hardly shattered his confidence as he stayed focused on enhancing his game through regular training and practice with the Asian Tour announcement coming as a big news for the diminutive but talented two-time Philippine Open champion.
His name is actually in the early roster of entries in the Blue Canyon Championship slated 25 to 28 November at the Blue Canyon Country Club and in the Laguna Phuket Championship on 2 to 5 December, both in Phuket, Thailand.
Both events will offer $1 million in total prize money.
Earlier, Angelo Que and Tony Lascuña have confirmed participation in the Asian Tour resumption along with Philippine Golf Tour campaigner Micah Shin with Justin Quiban and Ira Alido also eyeing to crash into the tournament proper after landing in the reserved list in the Laguna Phuket Championship.
The Asian Tour is also planning to stage two more tournaments in January in Singapore over consecutive weeks.
The twin Thailand events will feature not only the region’s leading players, headed by 2019
Order of Merit winner and local ace Jazz Janewattananond, but also its rising stars with the top 30 players from the final Order of Merit to receive automatic entries into next year’s season-opening
US$5 million Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
The tournaments will be played in bubble setup and will closely adhere to local government standard operating procedures. All players will also be required to be fully vaccinated to compete.
The four Asian Tour events played in early 2020 will also be added to the blended 2020-21 schedule. Australian Wade Ormsby has led the Order of Merit throughout the long break since winning the Hong Kong Open last January.