Miguel Tabuena delivered a strong performance for Filipino golfers in Day 2 of the International Series Philippines.
Miguel Tabuena leads a strong local contingent flying the flag for the nation and challenging for the International Series Philippines title after a sensational hole in one and eagle helped him to stay in the hunt behind leader Sarit Suwannarut at the halfway stage on Friday.
Sarit leads by four on fourteen under, ahead of home hope Tabuena (65) and in-form Japanese player Kazuki Higa (69), one in front of a five-man chasing pack that includes veteran Angelo Que, who impressed with a superb 65.
Compatriot Justin Quiban (68) is in a big group T19 on six under after four late birdies, an impressive position given former world No.1 Dustin Johnson sits a further two shots back after a disappointing 73.
Tabuena, a three-time Asian Tour champion teed off on 10 and started off with a quick birdie before his heroic ace on the 177-yard 14, with a precision eight iron. He followed up with an eagle on 16 and then a closing birdie for a sensational back nine of 30. Two quick birdies followed after the turn on two and three, and although he bogeyed hole four, he closed out the next five on par for a seven-under 65 and a 10-under aggregate.
Tabuena, a three-time winner on the Asian Tour, said: "It’s not every day you make a hole-in-one, but I was glad I kept it together after that. There’s a lot of golf to play, but it was nice. It’s been probably six years since my last one and only second in a competition. It was nice that it was here in front of friends, family and in my home club.”
The 2023 Asian Tour Order of Merit runner-up said: “And then the eagle on the 16th. That was a perfect seven-wood for me. I don’t know how many times I’ve eagled that hole, so it’s very familiar to me. And that is my favourite pin position for that hole, so it was a very green light for me."
Tabuena, who was forced out of the SJM Macao Open with a neck spasm last week, tees off in the final group on Saturday with Sarit and Higa at 10:50 AM. The 31-year-old is hoping that Sta. Elena Golf Course is set up tough over the weekend.
"Hopefully, yeah. I seem to perform better when the course isn’t that much gettable. I would like to think I’m a very accurate driver, and I don’t make too many mistakes, so hopefully it gets tougher the next two days."
The 2023 Asian Tour Order of Merit runner up is not the only home hope looking for a good run over the weekend.
Quiban also comfortably made it into the weekend. The 29-year-old carded an eagle - his third so far in 36 holes - five birdies and three bogeys in an eventful four-under 68. Four birdies in the last five holes were key, catapulting him up to six under, and well inside the cut line of three under.
Quiban admitted he was growing in confidence after the run of closing birdies moved him to T19. Quiban, who will tee off at 9:33 AM, said: "It feels great to make the cut here at home and actually be sort of in the mix. Even though these guys are going deep, I feel like a good number is coming soon. So at least I have the weekend to show that. Usually when I get a heater, I know it. If I know my game’s working, I know I can compete.”
Talking about the Filipino challenge in general, he said: "It is always good to see the Filipino flag on the Asian Tour leaderboard. It’s nice to see myself in it and try to get into that mix — especially seeing Angelo back on Tour again. For Miguel too, he’s not far off the lead. So, it’s going to be a nice weekend — it’ll be fun."
Que was the third and final home hero to qualify. The 46-year-old, starting in the penultimate group on hole 10, carded four birdies in a flawless front nine, and picked up another four plus just the one bogey on the back nine, powering up to nine under in T4.
Que revealed he would continue to take the patient approach that has served him so well this week. The veteran, who tees off at 10:28 AM along with Denzel Ieremia of New Zealand and Matthew Cheung of Hong Kong, said: "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. I am just going to play every shot, and I won't think too far ahead.”
"My game plan coming into this week was to avoid troubles, and hit as many fairways and greens. So far, it's working for me. I think I'm just going to stick to that. I'm not going to force any shots this week. I haven't forced anything this week, and surprisingly, I'm way up there. I think that goes to show that having a nice game plan and just trusting it works."
Sarit's first shot of the day ended up in the penalty area. Despite that, the Thai still managed to make birdie and that set the tone for the day as he raced ahead of the field.
The 27-year-old, who has won the 2022 BNI Indonesian Masters and the 2023 Volvo China Open on The International Series, said: "I have been having some pretty good days. I know my game, and I’ve just tried to stay calm and focus on what I have to do. So far, I’ve been doing that pretty well. I just hope I can keep the momentum for the next two days — but you never know what can happen in golf, so we’ll see."
The International Series Philippines is the sixth leg of the elevated International Series events on the Asian Tour.