Tabuena ready to prove his worth at Transcend Open
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Highly rated Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines will compete in next week's US$130,000 Transcend Open with an eye on securing his first professional career victory.
The Transcend Open is the newest event to make its debut on the Asian Development Tour and will be staged at the Tong Hwa Golf and Country Club from May 25-28 (Wednesday to Saturday).
At only 16 years old, Tabuena has already impressed many with his blossoming talent. After winning a silver medal at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China last year, Tabuena finished in the top-40 of the Asian Tour Qualifying School early this year while still an amateur.
The Filipino then turned professional a week prior to the SAIL Open in India and continued to impress by finishing in a commendable tied 30th place.
He also made the halfway cut at the inaugural Indonesian Masters which boosted a stellar field that included world number one Lee Westwood of England and three-time Order of Merit winner, Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand.
Westwood, after playing a practice round with the young Filipino, hailed the youngster as a star of the future. "He looks to be a very good player. He's got enough talent to be around for a few years," he said.
Tabuena is one of the new exciting talents to emerge from Asia and is expected to benefit tremendously from the Asian Development Tour, which was created last year as a platform for budding golfers to enhance their careers.
Compatriot Artemio Murakami, winner of the Iskandar Johor Open on the Asian Tour in 2008, will be looking for an improved performance after coming close to victory at the previous ADT stop, the PGM-ADT-CCM Impian Classic in Malaysia earlier this month.
The bubbly Murakami was leading by three shots at the turn during the final round but faded in his homeward run to lose out to winner Jonathan Moore of the United States.
Local prospect Hsu Chia-jen, who finished second on the Asian Development Tour's Order of Merit last season, together with seasoned campaigners Lin Wen-tang, a five-time Asian Tour winner and Chan Yih-shin who has won once on the Asian Tour, will also be in the field at the Transcend Open vying for top honours.
The top three players on the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn their Asian Tour cards for 2012.
This season, there will be a minimum of seven tournaments on the Asian Development Tour. Five tournaments were staged last year.
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