Filipino golf standout Miguel Tabuena has done the unimaginable – winning the International Series Philippines presented by Bingo Plus in dominant fashion.
Even with major champions and Asia’s best in the field, Tabuena not only held his nerve, but he also showed the way. With rounds of 69-65-65-65, the golf phenom played a fairytale week at his home course in front of home fans. Local golf enthusiasts came in droves, packing Sta. Elena Golf Club’s fairways from the opening tee shot on day one, until Miguel dropped the final putt on day four.
The Philippines has not hosted an international golf tournament of this magnitude in at least thirty years, with the last big tournament held way back in 1995. For golf-hungry fans, the sight of the game’s greats like Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, and many more is a treat not to be missed. The cherry on top is our very own Miguel Tabuena, not just matching the biggest stars shot for shot, but actually beating them convincingly.
Tabuena’s three-shot victory over his closest pursuers was no walk in the park. Even before the tournament began, pressure was starting to mount for Miguel. He actually just withdrew from last week’s tournament in Macau due to a neck spasm. To add to the recent physical issue, not only is our country the host, the venue is his home course – which brings with it immense expectations. For us regular golfers, playing at home can be a double-edged sword. While familiarity can be an advantage, it can also work against you, especially when there is so much expectation to do well. But the champion that Miguel Tabuena is, he took the challenge head-on. Playing in the marquee group with Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen in the first two rounds, Tabuena held his nerve, shooting a good opening 69 and followed it up with a 65. That brought him close to the lead after the halfway cut. Another 65 on day three placed Tabuena on top of the leaderboard, alongside Thai Sarit Suwannarut and China’s Sampson Zheng.
While it was pretty close and pressure-packed throughout the final round, Miguel distanced himself early with birdies on holes 2 and 3. A lone bogey on the 7th temporarily derailed Tabuena, before he came back on the very next hole, the par 5 8th, which he eagled. It was a hole he failed to take advantage of in the previous three rounds. But on the final day, when it mattered the most, Tabuena holed a delicate chip from off the green for an eagle.
As his closest pursuers began to make mistakes in the back nine, Tabuena kept his foot on the pedal, making birdies on 11, 13, 15, and 16, virtually sealing the deal with two holes remaining. An errant drive on the 72nd hole didn’t matter as Miguel played out to the fairway and stuck his approach to around 4 feet. In front of adoring home fans, and with the hopes of an entire golfing nation on his shoulders, Miguel Tabuena holed his final putt for the win. In the end, Tabuena finished three clear of Kasuki Higa and Yosuke Asaji of Japan, and four ahead of his co-leaders, Sarit Suwannarut of Thailand and Sampson Zheng of China.
With the Filipino golf community raring for big tournaments, the International Series Philippines couldn’t have ended any better. Huge crowds, happy sponsors, and a successful tournament won by our own golfing hero. Just perfection.