The award, inaugurated last year as part of UBS’s title-sponsorship of the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, highlights an individual whose performance, either over the last 12 months or cumulatively, has contributed to the development of golf in Asia.

It may be an individual performance or a career-long contribution that has had a positive impact on the game and deserves special recognition.

Appropriately, Miñoza and Liang are joined by some of Asian golf’s biggest stars on the prestigious list of nominees. Heading the challenge are Boonchu Ruangkit of Thailand, Koreans Lee Sung and Choi Kyung-ju and India’s Jyoti Randhawa.

The winner will be announced this Sunday at the Asian Tour’s UBS Awards Gala dinner in Bangkok, which brings the curtain down on the season at the conclusion of the Volvo Masters of Asia.

The announcement of Miñoza’s nomination came after a sterling season from the veteran Filipino, who has notched victories in Asia and Japan this year.

The first triumph came at his national Open in February, when he held off China’s Liang and compatriot Gerald Rosales for a popular victory. He then went on to win a second title of the year at the ABC Championship on the Japan Golf Tour, his seventh career triumph in the country.

However, this year is merely the icing on the cake for the 48-year-old star, who has led the way for Asian golf for decades. He now has 16 career victories around the region and, as one of the few players of the modern Asian era to have played in the US Masters, is revered in the Philippines and idolized by many of the country’s up and coming players.