Costly miscues scuttle Tabuena’s Taiwan bid

MANILA, Philippines -- Miguel Tabuena gave himself a genuine shot at a spectacular finish with a blistering 62, only to see his title hopes unravel when it mattered most.

After exploding into contention with a course-record-tying 10-under card in the pivotal third round Saturday, Tabuena could not summon the same Sunday magic, settling for an even-par 72 and a share of 16th in the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship at Linkou International Golf and Country Club in Chinese Taipei.

The Filipino ace looked poised for another charge after birdies on two of his first five holes, but his momentum abruptly disappeared.

Three straight bogeys from No. 8 proved particularly costly as the leaders continued to pile up birdies and attack a course that was yielding plenty of low scores. Tabuena's stumble effectively took him out of the hunt, and although he answered with birdies on Nos. 12 and 13, the damage had already been done.

He bogeyed the 17th to finish with a pair of 36s for a 16-under 272 total, a respectable finish but one that carried an unmistakable sense of what might have been after his sensational third-round charge.

Just a day earlier, Tabuena had looked like a virtual afterthought before suddenly turning himself into a legitimate title contender with a dazzling 62. He seized the moment with a fearless assault on the Linkou layout, matching the course record and putting himself within striking distance of the leaders heading into the final round.

But with the title within sight, the Filipino could not sustain that pace.

His early birdies offered a glimpse of another fireworks display, only for the three-hole bogey skid to halt his momentum. By the time he reached the closing stretch, Tabuena was chasing rather than challenging for the championship.

Still, the third-round explosion served as an encouraging reminder of the firepower that has made him one of the Philippines' leading golfers.

A 62 on a championship layout does not happen by accident, and Tabuena's ability to vault from the fringes of contention into the title picture in a single round showed just how quickly he can change the complexion of a tournament.

It was ultimately a case of too little, too late in the final round, but also a performance that offered something to build on as Tabuena heads into the final phase of his preparations for the Asian Games.

Thai Pavit Tangkamolprasert made sure there would be no comeback story at the top of the leaderboard, producing the decisive moment on the 18th hole. He sank a birdie on the closing par-5 to pull away from Japan's Kazuki Higa and capture the championship by one stroke.

Tangkamolprasert finished with a 25-under-par 263 total, while Higa closed with a 67 for 264 and second place.

Higa had recovered impressively from a setback on No. 12, answering with birdies on the next two holes to draw level with Tangkamolprasert at 24-under. But the Japanese could not duplicate his earlier success on the closing par-5, where he had made birdie in the first and third rounds and an eagle in the second. He settled for par and a 67, allowing Tangkamolprasert to seize the title with his decisive birdie.

Local favorite Hung Chien Yao fired a 65 to finish third at 265.

Justin Quiban, meanwhile, closed with a solid 67 to climb to a share of 32nd at 12-under 276.

For Tabuena, the next assignment comes immediately.

He will head to the Mercuries Taiwan Masters next week, another $1.2-million event that will provide his final competitive tuneup before the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on September 30-October 3.

The Top 16 finish may not have delivered the dramatic ending his 62 promised, but the third-round eruption gives Tabuena something valuable to carry forward: proof that the game remains capable of producing the kind of low-scoring burst needed to contend at the highest level.

The challenge now is to make that brilliance last for all four rounds.