Patience will remain a virtue for Filipino teenager Miguel Tabuena as he turns his focus on this week's Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters.
The 19-year-old narrowly missed out on a maiden Asian Tour victory in Taipei Sunday, losing in the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) play-off to Thailand's Prom Meesawat.
However, his runner-up cheque of $55,000 has virtually assured him of his full Tour card for 2015.
More From This Section
Tabuena rose from 45th to 15th place in the latest Asian Tour's Order of Merit and will seek another strong showing at the RM1.3 million ($410,000) Selangor Masters starting Thursday.
The top-10 players on the rankings as of Oct 20 will qualify for the lucrative CIMB Classic in Malaysia next month.
The talented Tabuena was delighted with his best result yet of his burgeoning career, although he would be replaying the missed birdie putt in regulation which would have sealed a victory.
"I've been knocking on the door so I have to stay patient. If I keep playing the way I've been playing, then the win will eventually come," said Tabuena, who has now earned $75,185 this season.
"I think this result will help me keep my card for next year. I'm happy I can do that because it was my goal to finish inside the top-60 at the end of the year. I've been happy with all my results so far even though I didn't win," added the Filipino.
American David Lipsky, who will headline the field in Malaysia this week, continues to lead the rankings with $645,770, followed by India's Anirban Lahiri who chipped into Lipsky's lead with an equal fourth outing in Taipei that took his season's earnings to $308,590.