Que seeks to end slump in rich ICTSI Manila tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Angelo Que, one of the country’s top guns still winless halfway through the Philippine Golf Tour, hopes to finally hit paydirt as he joins the title chase in the star-studded P3.5 million ICTSI Manila Masters which unfolds tomorrow at the Eastridge Golf Club in Binangonan, Rizal.

Que, a three-time Asian Tour champion and former Philippine Open winner, finished way below expectations in the Orchard Golf Championships at his home course two weeks ago. Coming off a two-week rest following a grueling campaign on the Asian Tour and the local circuit, Que put himself in early contention at Orchard with a 67 and 69 but faltered in the final two rounds with a 72 before closing out with a 76 to end up tied for 20th.

But he vows to rebound at the Manila Masters, not only to snap a long title spell but also to boost his bid in the Order of Merit ranking where he is currently at 20th spot with a best finish of joint third at Eagle Ridge last April.

“I will try to bounce back and recover but the field is strong since everybody is here. So it will be a big challenge,” said Que.

That guarantees a four-day shootout for the top P650,000 purse, put up by the sponsoring International Container Terminal Services, Inc., among the cream of the pro crop, including reigning back-to-back OOM titlist and two-leg champion Tony Lascuña and fellow leg winners Charles Hong, Elmer Salvador, Rufino Bayron, Jay Bayron and Jun Rates.

Frankie Miñoza, also in search of a first win this year after racking up three victories last season, is also in the fold.

Joining him are young gun Miguel Tabuena, this year’s The Country Club Invitational champion Cassius Casas, veteran Robert Pactolerin, Jhonnel Ababa, Ferdie Aunzo, Michael BIbat, Marvin Dumandan, Mhark Fernando, Zanieboy Gialon, James Ryan Lam, Clyde Mondilla, Rey Pagunsan, Gerald Rosales, Carl Santos-Ocampo, Mars Pucay, and young Micah Shin, who placed second to Hong at  Sherwood, the first P3.5 million event last April.

Manila-based Canadian Rick Gibson, meanwhile, heads the foreign challenge in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., which includes Dutch Guido Van der Valk, and Koreans Kim Chang Hoi, Kim Dae Nyeon, Mun Jae Hyung, Park Jin Hyeon and Park Jun Song.

The leading pros, meanwhile, test the up-and-down par-72 layout in today’s traditional pro-am tournament where they will be paired with the amateur-guests of the event’s chief backers, including Nike Golf, Pacsports, Srixon, FootJoy, It’s More Fun in the Philippines, Callaway, Mizuno, Custom Clubmakers, Titleist, Sharp and KZG with Balls Channel, and ABS-CBN Sports+Action as media partners.