Tabuena 4 adrift in Japan tourney

MANILA, Philippines - Miguel Tabuena birdied No. 18 and salvaged a two-over par 72 to trail Satoru Hirota and Tomoharu Kimura by four strokes at the start of the Shizu Hills Tommy Cup 2012 in Ibaraki, Japan yesterday.

Tabuena, 17, flashed his superb putting skills to stay in early contention in the 54-hole tournament, part of the Japan Challenge Tour, a series of developmental tournaments run by the Japan Golf Tour.

Winner of two legs on the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour, Tabuena has been honing his skills and talents by competing abroad in his continuing quest for glory.

He actually struggled with his driving and iron game but made up for these with exceptional stint on the greens, one-putting the first four holes and finished with 12 putts at the front. He, however, slowed down at the back, settling for 17 putts while dropping strokes on Nos. 11, 13 and 17.