Kuala Lumpur: Talented Filipino young gun Miguel Tabuena hopes to take his game up to the next level when he challenges for honours at the PGM-UMW Templer Park Masters which starts on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old Tabuena will feature alongside some of the region’s upcoming stars at the RM200,000 (approximately US$65,000) Asian Development Tour event which includes Michael Tran of Vietnam, Nicholas Fung of Malaysia, Choo Tze Huang of Singapore and Rory Hie of Indonesia.

The top-10 players on the Order of Merit led by James Bowen of the United States, Grant Jackson of England, Mitsuhiko Hashizume of Japan, Lindsay Renolds of Canada and James Byrne of Scotland will also feature at Templer Park Country Club.

Tabuena first made an appearance on the Asian Tour in 2011 when he finished inside the top-40 of the Qualifying School as an amateur before turning professional. He enjoyed one of his best career highlights on the Asian Tour when he was in contention at the 2012 ICTSI Philippine Open but lost to Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat after closing with a disappointing 81.

The highly rated teenager has won on the local Philippine circuit but is determined to secure his first ever professional win outside of the Philippines at the PGM-UMW Templer Park Masters, which is the sixth stop on the 2013 ADT season.

“I’m swinging the ball well. I was a bit under the weather before going to the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters (last week where he missed the cut) so I didn’t have enough practice. I’ve been hitting the ball well so I have to sharpen up my putting,” said Tabuena.

“I won a local event this year and I want to bring that winning feeling into this week’s ADT event. You have to really practice hard to play well and build your confidence to win at this level,” said the Filipino, a silver medallist winner at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

Malaysian hope Shaaban Hussin, who won an event in Penang a fortnight ago, is determined to continue his winning run at Templer Park.

“My game is in good shape and I’m still feeling confident after winning in Penang. My driving and ball striking is good so I hope I can continue my form this week,” said Shaaban, who finished tied 36th at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters last week.

The top three players on the Order of Merit at the end of the season earn Asian Tour cards for the following year.