Champ Que boosts stock with Pradera Verde triumph
Angelo Que couldn’t wait to get back to the thing he loves doing most after putting the finishing touches to a dominant week by shooting a four-under-par 68 that completed a wire-to-wire win in the P2.5-million ICTSI Pradera Verde Championship.
“I’m going back to daddy duties,” the 46-year-old quickly told the Inquirer on Thursday when asked of what’s next after winning by six strokes over Carl Corpus at the Pinatubo layout in Lubao, Pampanga. “I am happy to win again, to add to my legacy and am very happy going back to my family.”
Que tallied 278 over the brand-new layout that provided more than a stiff challenge, winning for the second time in roughly 10 months. Though he said that he will play at Eastridge in two weeks’ time, his time with his two kids and wife Tracy is foremost in his mind.
That’s how soft his approach to the sport is now, having been a pro—as a local and Asian Tour fixture—for the last 24 years.
“It hit me that the player I was trying to beat (Corpus), wasn’t even born when I turned pro,” Que, a three-time Asian Tour winner who also has PH Open and PH Masters titles to his collection, said with a laugh.
A longtime ward of swing coach Bong Lopez, Que was quick to point out that the 23-year-old Corpus has the humility and talent in him for a bright future. “The kid’s special.”
Soft schedule
Corpus gutted out a fourth straight 71 for 284, with South Korean Q School medalist Jae Hyun-jung finishing another stroke back by closing out with another 70 as they finished as the only players with sub-par scores.
Aidric Chan and Dutchman Guido van der Valk fired 70 and 73, in that order, for 289s for a fourth-place tie.
Que’s international schedule for the year is also pretty soft, with participation in select Asian Tour and International Series events starting with the one in Macau after Eagleridge.
“I’m more focused on the TPC (tournament players’ council) of the Asian Tour and will take advantage of country invites to play,” he said. “There’s also teaching, which I have dabbled into. So this win boosts my stock in that respect.”
