Golf wunderkind draws inspiration from above, dad

MANILA, Philippines - It’s not often a 16-year-old golfer emerges to contend for the gold medal at the Asian Games and comes away with the silver after four days of intense pressure on a course that even seasoned players find tough to crack.

But Filipino wunderkind Miguel Tabuena pulled it off in stirring fashion at the Dragon Boat Lake golf course in Guangzhou the other day. Tabuena showed the way in the first two rounds, carding a pair of 68s, then faltered on the third day with a 74 but shot an even 72 on the final stretch to stave off Chinese-Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao by a stroke for the silver at the 16th Asian Games. Korea’s Kim Meen Whee took the gold with a nine-shot margin despite trailing Tabuena after two rounds.

Both Kim and Hung are 18. Only three players were younger than Tabuena in the cast of 77 amateur players from 20 countries – Macau’s Ao Ka Wai, 13, and Yan Sihuang, 15, and Saudi Arabia’s Attieh Khalid Walid, 15. The oldest player was Nepal’s Tashi Ghale, 53.

The night before the last day of competitions, Tabuena received an e-mail from his personal coach Rick Gibson, a former Asian tour pro. Gibson, writing from his home country Canada, offered sage advice – ”create opportunities, stay in the moment, just go out and play!”

Tabuena’s father Luigi, a Christian minister, said throughout the day, his son kept recalling Gibson’s message. “Miguel knew he was not just playing for himself,” said the proud father. “He was playing for his country. Miguel dedicated this wonderful achievement to Jesus Christ who is his Lord, then to the Philippines and his family.”

Tabuena’s parents Luigi and Lorna and sister Danielle were in Guangzhou to provide moral support for the youngest Filipino golfer in coach Tommy Manotoc’s four-man squad.

Even before leaving for Guangzhou, Tabuena was confident of going for the gold despite the odds. Since golf was introduced at the Asian Games in 1982, the Philippines has collected just one gold medal (Ramon Brobio, 1986), three silvers and seven bronzes.

Calling himself a “stopper,” Tabuena said his goal was to play steady round after round, playing to his average and letting the others take risks and make the mistakes. “I won’t go high and I won’t go low,” he said. “I have a strong mental game. Coach Tommy always reminds me never to panic on a bad shot and just stay in the game.”

When the going got tough on the final day, Tabuena’s father said the “stopper” came through. Tabuena finished with a 72, parring the last hole which Hung bogeyed.

Tabuena yielded the driver’s seat on the third round. “Miguel couldn’t make the putts and shot two over while Lee made every putt,” groaned his father. “Lee even made an eagle. Miguel really turned out to be the team’s stopper. He found himself not in the position of a fourth man. All I wanted was for him to get the experience. He got more than I expected. What a guy!”

Tabuena was only four years old when he played his first full round at the Alabang Country Club and joined his first tournament at five, finishing third in a juniors competition at the Aguinaldo course. A high school sophomore taking up home studies under the supervision of the Masters Academy, Tabuena wound up fifth of some 300 participants in the under-18 bracket at the World Juniors in San Diego last year. It was the best Filipino finish in the tournament, which Carito Villaroman topped twice, in some 15 years.

Tabuena said he’s looking forward to playing on a golf scholarship in the US West Coast. He’s received feelers from several prestigious US schools. Tabuena intimated that he’s partial to the West Coast, particularly to a school like the University of Washington because his sister Michelle lives in Seattle.

Tabuena said he plans to make his pro debut before turning 20. “My ultimate golf dream is to win all the majors – the US Open, the British Open, the PGA Open and the Masters – or at least one,” he said.

Tabuena joins an elite roster of Filipino amateur parbusters who’ve reaped individual honors in the Asian Games – Brobio who claimed a gold in 1986 and a bronze in 1990, Jamine Jose who earned a bronze in 1990, Gerald Rosales who took a silver in 1998 and Michael Bibat who brought in a bronze in 2006.