Angel On The Green

By all accounts, 2008 is turning out to be a pretty good year for Angelo Que – and the last two weeks couldn’t have been better. Last Sunday, he took home the trophy – and $47,550 – of the 2008 Philippine Open, the 8th leg of this year’s Asian Tour Schedule played out on the fabled East Course of the now famous – or infamous, for reasons that have nothing to do with golf – Wack Wack Golf & Country Club in Mandaluyong.

“To win here at the Philippine Open is like a dream come true for me,” Que said moments after his one-shot win over come-from-behind Malaysian Danny Chia. Earlier, at practice just before the four-day event began, he had said that it “means a lot to be playing in our National Open and also the oldest Open in Asia. I would say the Philippine Open is one of the most important events for any Filipino golfer.”

So does playing at the British Open, another dream come true for the 30-year-old golfer who turned pro five years ago. Que earned the fourth and final Asian slot in the British Open, to be played in July at Royal Birkdale, by sinking a monster 40-foot birdie putt on the fourth play-off hole at the recent qualifying in Singapore. He is the first Filipino in a decade to get to tee off at the British Open since Frankie Miñoza qualified in 1998.

“It feels great,” Que says, a phrase that has become almost a mantra the last two weeks. “Finally, I’ve got a chance to play in The Open. It’s an honor for me to represent the Philippines…a dream come true.”

That’s another phrase he’s been using quite a bit these days, as he begins to fulfill the dreams of golfing glory he’s been nurturing since he was 17 years old, when he decided he wanted to play golf – not just on weekends or for leisure, but as a professional. He first picked up a club when he was seven, and he went through the Junior Golf circuit as a promising – but not particularly remarkable – young player.

Que diligently played the courses around the country as an amateur, honing his play as he built up valuable experience and confidence. In 2003 he turned pro, and the following year scored his maiden breakthrough with a win at the inaugural Carlsberg Masters in Vietnam, beating an international field that included some stellar names on the Asian circuit.

Expectations were high that that would be the start of a string of victories in the region, but he skidded into a dry spell and could only watch as compatriots Juvic Pagunsan, Artemio Murakami and Frankie Miñoza all scored tournament victories on the Asian Tour.

But Que, who said he never thought of giving it up and doing something else, stayed the course – literally – and took a long, hard look at his game. “For the past two years I’ve been inconsistent in every aspect of my game, especially my greens in regulation and my putting stats,” he admitted in a pre-Philippine Open interview. “I decided to work on those areas and with the help of my sports psychologist Andrea Furst and swing coach Bong Lopez, I gained the confidence I needed to be where I am right now.”

At last year’s open, won by Miñoza, Que looked like he might have had a chance but faltered on his back nine, a trait that marked many tournaments when he showed promise in the early rounds only to score miserably in the final days. “I was inconsistent and impatient and I think I know now what I have to do in order to give myself a better shot at the title,” he added.

The sessions with the psychologist and the intensive training with coach Lopez – and the boost that qualifying for the British Open gave him: “Qualifying for the British Open would boost anybody’s confidence,” he says – proved most effective in reversing Que’s previous playing trend, This time around, he was not too remarkable in the opening days but played a fantastic third round with a blustering 66 to go into the final day two shots ahead of the field. Chased by Australian Gavin Flint (who ended up in third spot) and his buddy on the Asian Tour Danny Chia of Malaysia – who turned in a 66 and was waiting in the clubhouse for a possible play-off – Que pulled off his fourth birdie of the day on the 14th to go two-up, only to lose one on the 17th for a mere one-stroke lead over Chia.

“Coming in on the last hole, I saw Danny’s score was four under total and I knew it might go for a play-off. I needed to par the 18th hole so I focused on my breathing exercises and hoped to hit it nicely and perfectly – and I did it.” A 20-foot chip at the edge of the green left him with a sweet tap in for par and the championship.

“I kept my composure the entire week and I never tried to do something that I couldn’t,” he says. “I didn’t force anything.”

The win at the 92nd Philippine Open lifted Que up to 20th spot on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, with winnings of $68,293 in five tournaments participated. GolfInvestors, which has tracked his winnings since 2003, puts his career earnings at over $358,000. Chia is 24th in the Order of Merit; Flint is 37th. Other Filipinos in the top 100 include Artemio Murakami (45), Antonio Lascuna (54), Juvic Pagunsan (55), Frankie Miñoza (63), Gerald Rosales (75) and Mars Pucay (86).      

Que’s last victory before this Open came at The Country Club Invitational last year. In the four tournaments he’s played earlier this year, he has made the cut each time, and capped it with the British Open qualifying at Sentosa, home of the Asian Tour, the week before the Philippine Open. He gets to play in the HSBC Champions tournament and is assured of his Asian Tour card for the next two years, so he can pick and choose his tournaments this year – a good thing for a new family man like Que.

Last year he married long-time girlfriend Tracy Locsin, herself a golfer who sometimes caddies for him. Two weeks ago the couple found out they were going to be parents.

“It was a life-changing experience when I knew that a baby was on the way,” the usually reticent Que enthuses. “I am not playing for myself anymore as I’m playing for my family now, which is added inspiration for me.”

The added inspiration should serve him well as Que heads off to three major tournaments, starting with the $2.2-million Volvo China Open at the CBD International Golf Club in Beijing this week, followed by the $2.3-million BMW Asian Open at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club next week. He returns to Beijing on the first week of May for the Beijing Open at Pine Valley Golf Club, which has a million-dollar purse.