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COMING
off his learning experience at the British Open last
weekend, Filipino golf star Angelo Que seeks his second
Asian Tour title this season when he joins compatriot
Antonio Lascuna in the Worldwide Selangor Masters in
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, in two weeks’ time.
Despite
missing the cut in his first Open amid gale-force winds
at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, Que promised a
quick return to the Tour and remained upbeat about his
chances for the rest of the year, thanks to his newfound
focus of playing for his growing family.
“It was
really a good learning experience for me. I had a great
week, had some good moments and met a lot of great
people. I’m not disappointed at all. I’m still proud to
have played in the Open,” said Que, who had rounds of 76
and 78 to miss the cut by five shots, in the event where
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington successfully defended his
title.
“My
focus has now shifted from playing for myself to my
family, which is added motivation in my life,” added the
29-year-old, who won the Philippine Open in April and
then welcomed his first child with wife Tracy a few
weeks later.
“With my
success at home [at the RP Open, also an Asian Tour
event], I get to play in the big events and get to
choose the tournaments which I want to play in. So I’m
looking forward to the rest of the year,” he told
AsianTour.com.
Currently 32nd on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit with
$77,377 (P3.4 million) in earnings through nine
tournaments, Que hopes to move up the list with a strong
performance at the Selangor Masters, which unfolds from
August 6 to 9 at the Seri Selangor Golf Club and offers
a total purse of 1 million Malaysian ringgits
($310,000).
The
two-time Philippine Amateur champion and Lascuna, who
won the Selangor Masters last year when it was but a
domestic tournament, will be among the marked men in the
event that enters the Asian Tour calendar for the first
time.
The last
time Que played in Malaysia, he finished tied for 46th
at the Maybank Malaysian Open on March 6—three weeks
before he got his British Open card at the final
international qualifying event in Singapore—and earned
$9,600 (about P424,000).
He
finished tied for 11th in the Malaysia Open in 2007,
indicating he can handle that country’s courses and
conditions.
Lascuna,
meanwhile, is coming off a solid 2007 marked by two
top-three finishes on the Asian circuit, and hopes for a
repeat victory in the Selangor Masters that would give
him his first Tour win, as well.
The
Filipino pair will be contending with a formidable Thai
contingent that includes two-time Asian Tour No. 1
Thongchai Jaidee, 10-time Tour winner Thaworn Wiratchant
and Chapchai Nirat, second on the Tour’s Order of Merit
last season.
Chinese
Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang and Korea’s Lee Sung are also
considered threats for the Selangor Masters title,
according to AsianTour.com
Although
the Tour has yet to confirm it, the event’s top purse
should be about as much as the $47,550 Que earned for
his Philippine Open victory at storied Wack Wack Golf
Club.
To
secure another Asian Tour win after prevailing in the
2004 Carlsberg Masters in Vietnam, the five-year pro
knows he needs to improve on his shot-making, especially
since he hits the ball with a high trajectory, which
troubled him at the British Open.
“I
learned that I need to improve my game playing in the
wind. That would be my goal in the future, to be able to
handle strong winds because, for sure, there will be
other tournaments in the same conditions,” Que said.
“I want
to be prepared next time and maybe for next year’s
Open.” |
