Tabuena goes for 2nd Asian crown
OSAKA, Japan — Miguel Tabuena has set his sights on a second Asian Tour title when he returns to one of his favorite destinations for the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup later this month.
The 21-year-old Tabuena, who is the reigning Philippine Open champion, will headline an elite field alongside Korea’s Jeunghun Wang, S.S.P. Chawrasia of India and South African Shaun Norris, all top-10 players on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, at the Ibaraki Country Club.
New Asian Tour winners Chan Shih-chang of Chinese Taipei and Carlos Pigem of Spain, Thai veteran stars Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng, will also feature in the $1.3 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
Hideki Matsuyama, Hideto Tanihara and Yuta Ikeda, the leading three Japanese players on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) with Matsuyama ranked the highest in 16th position, will spearhead the locharge cal in what is the Asian Tour’s second stop in Japan this season.
Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa, who won on his domestic Tour last month after struggling with lower back issues, will also make his first appearance on the Asian Tour this season at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup, slated to take place from Sept. 22 to 25.