Manila: Teen sensation Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines is hoping to be the first local to win the inaugural Resorts World Manila Masters trophy when the newest US$750,000 Asian Tour event makes its debut at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club next week.

The talented 19-year-old, who won twice on the local circuit, will be amongst a strong line-up of players challenging for honours at the Resorts World Manila Masters from November 14 to 17.

Tabuena will join local hopefuls Angelo Que and Antonio Lascuna in spearheading the home charge against a strong international field which includes reigning Order of Merit winner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, Sweden’s Daniel Chopra, China’s Liang Wen-chong, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang and Mardan Mamat of Singapore.

Tabuena, who is currently second on the local rankings, hailed the establishment of the new Asian Tour tournament in the Philippines.

“It’s good that we’re having a new tournament in the Philippines. I’ve played well in Manila Southwoods in both courses and I’ve finished top-five many times over there,” said the young Filipino, who is looking for his career breakthrough on the region’s premier Tour next week.

“I think as Filipinos, we have the advantage because we’re more familiar with the course. Playing at home can give you added pressure but it’s good to have the crowd behind us and hopefully we can deliver,” added Tabuena.

An international mix of players from over 22 countries are expect to battle for world ranking points and the winner’s purse of US$135,000.

Que and Lascuna will also take aim at putting on a good show before heading to Australia to represent the Philippines at the ISPS Handa World Cup of golf.

To further develop the game of golf in the Philippines, 30 spots will be given to players from the ever-growing Philippines Golf Tour (PGT) to compete against the region’s best at the Resorts World Manila Masters.

As the sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour believes that partnering the PGT is important to help grow the game domestically, especially in view of golf returning into the Olympics program in 2016.