Miguel

Tabuena

The Filipino golfer began his day on the back nine, playing in the first group, and for ten holes he was on target for a dazzling score. Last week James Nitties equaled the world record for nine birdies on the bounce, but how many players have opened a tournament with seven in a row? Tabuena did just that in a startling display and what’s more, having taken a rest at the 17th, he added two more at the 18th and the first to lie an astonishing 9-under through ten. Alas he could make no further progress and dropped shots at the fifth and ninth. Taking 65 blows in the first round of a European Tour event is a career best for him, besting the 66s he hit in the 2018 Maybank Championship and 2017 Mauritius Open. He was joined in the clubhouse lead by Kristoffer Reitan and they were two clear taking lunch.

The Filipino youngster is playing this event for the first time although he does have experience of the course having contested the Perth International there in 2016, although he shot 72-75 and missed the cut. Tabuena was a winner on the Asian Tour in December when shooting 65-63-66-66 to land the Queen’s Cup in Thailand and also took T18 in last month’s Singapore Open. His biggest moment in a co-sanctioned European Tour event came when finishing runner-up at the Maybank Championship Malaysia in 2016 while he also took T5 in the Mauritius Open in late 2017. They’re the exceptions to the rule in his tally of 31 starts at ET level but they offer hope that he could spring a surprise.

He’s just 1-for-5 at Fanling but let’s not forget that Tabuena is just 24 years old and open to plenty of improvement. The man from the Philippines did manage to open with a pair of 69s two years ago although slipped on the weekend to finish T51. He’ll return to the short par 70 this time with some solid form under his belt. In his last five worldwide starts, Tabuena has racked up three top 15s, T30 and T37. A slight concern is that it’s over a month since he pegged it up but, in theory, he has some sleeper potential.

The 21-year old is 0-for-2 in his PGA TOUR career with a missed cut at this year’s Sony Open the most recent appearance. Internationally, he is 7-for-10 in 2016 with a pair of top 5s. That was immediately following a win at his home open (Philippine Open) in December of 2015. Others to qualify include: 134--Justin Suh (USC); Gregor Main; Mark Anguiano...136--Tyler Raber...137--Brandon Harkins. Harkins prevailed in a 3-for-1 playoff over David Gazzolo and Hunter Larson. Some notables that did not make the cut include Gunn Yang, Will Zalatoris, Byron Meth, and Maverick McNealy.

The 21-year-old from the Philippines is well touted on the Asian Tour and made his breakthrough there with a home win last December. He pushed on with that form to post a European Tour best T2 in the Maybank Championship Malaysia, since when it has not quite happened, with his T18 in the Mauritius Open his best in that period until he claimed a 2-shot victory in the Daly City, California sectional qualifier, posting 11-under-par 64-68=132. He is making his major championship debut and is 0-for-2 in PGA starts having missed cuts at the Sony Open in 2012 and 2016.

Currently fifth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, Tabuena has a rare occurrence of back-to-back PGA TOUR events on his schedule, with the WGC-HSBC Champions on the docket next week. In a pre-tournament interview the 22-year-old said, “It is a big step up in my career to be playing in the CIMB Classic. Obviously one of my dream is to play on the PGA TOUR. I’m hoping to get enough FedExCup points this week and the next to get myself into the finals of the Web.com Tour which is how Anirban (Lahiri) got his PGA TOUR card last time. This is probably the biggest two weeks in my career.” We know Tabuena has lofty goals, but with top 20s in his last three Asian Tour starts leading up to the event, he may just pull through with a strong performance this week or next. Gamers should definitely give him a second glance in deeper fantasy formats.

The Philippine youngster might be making his bow at the course but he has made four visits to China, although whether he has any fond memories is a moot point: he’s missed the cut every time. Moreover he was never in the hunt to make even one of them, has broken 72 just once in 8 tries, never ranked higher than T92 after round one and never better than T97 after two laps. A winner of his home Open in December last year he had high hopes for this campaign and has had the odd highlight: T2 at the Maybank Championship Malaysia (a European Tour career best), T2 in this month’s Taiwan Masters and T8 in the Venetian Macau Open two weeks ago. This grade of field might be a stretch at this stage however: his U.S. Open debut this year saw him miss the cut and he was T52 at the Olympics.

Last December the well-touted 22-year-old Miguel Tabuena collected his first win - and on home soil in the Philippines Open – and within weeks he had added two more top fours, including T2 in the Maybank Malaysia Championship. But his season stalled thereafter, despite a U.S. Open debut, only for the form to be rediscovered in recent weeks, with four top 20 finishes in six starts, including another T2, this time in the Taiwan Masters. He’ll parlay this week with Angelo Que, a 37-year-old veteran of the Asian Tour. A three-time winner at that level, he hasn’t done so since 2010. He’s also concentrated this season on the Japan Tour and was solidly T11 last week in the high profile Dunlop Phoenix Tournament. It is unlikely that this pairing will top the Philippines previous best in the tournament – a solo second in the 1977 tournament played on home turf at Wack Wack GC.

The 22-year-old finished 53rd (of 59 players) at the 2016 Rio Games representing the Philippines. This is his sixth career PGA TOUR start, third this season, posting a T43 at the no-cut CIMB Classic and a T68 (of 78) at the WGC-HSBC in his WGC debut. The World No. 143 plays primarily on the Asian Tour, where he owns one win in 2015, claiming his national open, and three runners-up. He kicked off his third Sony (MCs in 2016 and 2012) with a five-birdie two-bogey 67 and chased with seven against two today on eight (of 14) fairways and 16 greens in regulation.

Tabuena has spent the last month collecting a locker full of accolades, including the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s Co-Athlete of the Year and the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month for December. The 21-year-old won a home game at the Philippine Open last month to put his name on many astute gamers’ radar. Tabuena missed the cut in his 2012 Sony debut, but he was still a teenager at that point. He’s worth another shot in deep formats this week.