Miguel Tabuena rattled off five straight birdies on the back nine to shoot a sizzling 65 and salvage a share of 11th place in the Jakarta International Championship, won by Australian Wade Ormsby in a sudden-death playoff on Sunday in Indonesia.
Tabuena, who dropped to a tie for 51st after back-to-back 71s at the par-70 Damai Indah Golf PIK course, struggled early despite opening with a birdie on the par-5 first. He settled for a string of pars and dropped a shot on the par-3 seventh for a 35.
But the two-time Philippine Open champion mounted a spirited comeback in the last nine holes, his birdie on No. 10 igniting a five-hole tear that vaulted him up the leaderboard. He closed with four straight pars to post a 30 and a five-under round, ending with a total of eight-under 272 – for a share of 11th alongside seven others.
That was just four strokes off the winning mark of 268 set by Ormsby and Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent, who both carded closing 69s. Ormsby eventually clinched the title with a routine par on the first playoff hole – the par-4 18th – where Vincent faltered after finding water on his approach.
Tabuena’s strong finish is expected to boost his confidence ahead of the upcoming Asian Tour event in Macau in two weeks.
Meanwhile, fellow Filipino Sean Ramos, who climbed to joint 14th after a gritty third-round 68, couldn’t maintain his momentum. Despite carding four birdies, he offset them with four bogeys for an even-par 70, dropping him to a tie for 19th at 273 – still a commendable showing in this International Series event.
Justin Quiban closed with a 69 to finish tied for 66th at 281.
Ormsby and Vincent, tied with India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar after 54 holes, battled neck-and-neck all day. Ormsby took an early edge with birdies on the second and fourth, while Vincent responded with a birdie at the seventh after birdying the first hole. Both bogeyed the ninth and made the turn with matching 34s.
Vincent pulled ahead with a birdie on 13, but bogeyed the 16th after missing the green, opening the door for a playoff.
Bhullar, who had birdied the first hole, stumbled with three bogeys on the front nine. He fought back with birdies on the 11th and 14th, but his round unraveled late with two double bogeys in the last four holes, finishing with a 74 and a tie for 19th alongside Ramos.