Angelo Que birdied the 17th hole to salvage a two-under-par 70 Sunday to tie for eighth place in the rich CIMB Classic that handed him the single biggest winning purse of his professional career as he brought home $189,000 or P8.3 million from four days of work at the Kuala Lumpur Golf Club.

His final round score gave him a total of 278, 10 under par on rounds of 67-72-69-70, seven shots behind defending champion Ryan Moore of the United States who shot 67 and won by three strokes over three other players.

Angelo Que (left) will go home P8.3 million richer after finishing tied for 8th in the rich CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur. (Courtesy of The Asian Tour)

It was a hugely rewarding stint for the 35-year-old Que who just three weeks ago was languishing in 60th in the Asian Order of Merit and about to call his season over.

But he placed second in the Hong Kong Open three weeks ago, missing the title in a playoff, and vaulted into sixth place in the Asian Tour Order of Merit race. That earned him a ticket to the CIMB Classic, a PGA Tour event that was open only to the top 10 placers of the Asian Tour.

He took advantage of the opportunity. A sizzling 67 on opening day set up his strong finish as over four days, he never fell below 11th place.

His par 72 in the second round was the only blemish in what otherwise was a consistent four-day play but at least he did not have a round over par.

With his top 10 finish in this PGA Tour event, Que has qualified for next week’s Sanderson’s Farm Championship in Mississippi. The surprising development somehow caught Que by surprise and said he will get in contact with his wife if he would take the offer.

Que was beside himself with joy with his sterling performance.

“Always shooting under par on the weekend is always a great way to go,” he said. “I finished top 10. My goal was to finish somewhere around there or even higher. I did it. I’m very proud of myself, very happy.”

Que appeared poised for a sizzling finish when he birdied three holes in succession from the fourth hole and moved into the top five. But a bogey on the ninth pulled him back and another on the 16th hole sent him reeling. He, however, managed to birdie the 17th hole to preserve his best finish in the strongest field he has ever played.

Que also had stints in the US Open and British Open, but on both occasions, he missed the cut.

Also at 10 under par and tied with Que for eighth were Prom Meesawat of Thailand, Billy Hurley and Davis Love III of the United States and Rory Sabatini of South Africa.

Before the CIMB Classic, Que had posted his biggest single earning at the HK Open where he pocketed $144,400 for being runner-up. But his eighth place tie in the CIMB Classic, which offered a total pot of $7 million, surpassed this. Counting his winnings in the Mercuries Taiwan Opene and the Macau Open over the past four weeks, Que was able to bank $553,980 in four tournaments that come up to over P24 million in Philippine currency.

He also doubled his Order of Merit total which now stands at $379,855 which is good for fifth place overall.

Que credited his new approach to the game as the key to his consistent play the past few weeks.

“I think I’m playing with a lot of confidence right now, trusting myself. It’s always trust issues, you know. If you trust yourself more, I think you’ll tend to do better,” Que said.

Tied for second at 275, 14 under-par were overnight co-leader Kevin Na (70), Gary Woodland (67) and Sergio Garcia (69).

— DING MARCELO

Resource: http://www.mb.com.ph/que-ties-for-8th-bags-p8-3-m/