In-form Lascuña eyes first Phl Open crown

MANILA, Philippines - Fresh from his runaway victory at ICTSI Valley Golf Classic, Tony Lascuña exudes confidence as he braces for a fierce battle with the best in the region in pursuit of a first ICTSI Philippine Open crown in the $300,000 event unfolding Thursday at Wack Wack’s fabled East layout.

Lascuña, the best Filipino finisher at third when Asia’s oldest championship was last played in 2012, also at Wack Wack, said his latest victory augured well for his bid for a breakthrough win in the country’s premier golf championship in terms of confidence and form.

“I’m hitting the ball pretty well and my confidence is high after winning at Valley,” said Lascuña, who routed the field and ran away with a seven-stroke romp over Jhonnel Ababa. “But it will be tough to win in the Philippine Open what with a crack foreign field and a host of local aces.”

Still, he remains upbeat of his chances, his form toughened up by his stints abroad, including a 24th finish in the Malaysian Open, a joint 22nd-place effort in the Indonesian Open and a share of 11th in The Championship in Singapore.

“I feel good about my (title) chances but I need to have a good start for the momentum. Actually, I’ve been playing well since the start of the year and inspired with my wife Cheryl heavy with our second child,” said Lascuña.

But the reigning back-to-back ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit charmpion will be as much as tested as the rest of the strong international field that includes 2012 champion Mardan Mamat of Singapore, Asian Tour OOM leader Anirban Lahiri of India, former OOM winner Siddikur of Bangladesh, Thai aces Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng and former champion Berry Henson of the US.

Joining Lascuña as spearHeads of the local challenge are former champions Angelo Que and Frankie Miñoza, young gun Miguel Tabuena and veteran campaigners Elmer Salvador, Jay Bayron and Cassius Casas.

Like Lascuña, the 19-year-old Tabuena, who has been touted as one of the future stars of the game on the Asian Tour, will be aiming for a breakthrough on the region’s premier Tour.

Tabuena had entered the final round in 2012 just one off the lead, sparking hopes for the youngest ever champion of the ICTSI Philippine Open. But he stumbled to a disappointing 81 and ended up joint 11th.

“I’ve been wanting to redeem myself for the past two years,” said Tabuena.

“Playing at Wack Wack brings back good and bad memories. But I’m glad I went through what I went through because I wouldn’t be the player that I am now,” he said. “I try to not think about what happened but whenever I set foot in Wack Wack, people will bring it up again! So I guess you have to ignore that and focus on the present. It gives me more motivation because I love proving people wrong.”

The ICTSI Philippine Open will be the second of three tournaments to feature on the Asian Tour’s calendar this season following the conclusion of the Solaire Open last March. Tabuena was also in contention then before settling for a share of seventh position.