Tabuena stays in hunt in Asian Tour; Que, Zaragosa gain in ADT

MANILA, Philippines – Miguel Tabuena pounded out a two-under 69 to move to a share of 13th, six strokes behind Thai Chonlatit Chuenboonngarn halfway through the Maekyung Open Golf Championship at the Namseoul Country Club in South Korea Friday.

Tabuena gunned down four birdies against two bogeys at the challenging par-71 layout. Despite grappling with the demanding greens, he managed to salvage clutch pars through adept scrambling, rounding out his performance with 30 putts.

But his stint off the tee, hitting 9 out of 14 fairways, coupled with limited instances of errant shots, underscored his superb ball-striking abilities.

However, the ICTSI-backed ace, who finished runner-up in the Asian Tour's Order of Merit ranking last year, faces an uphill battle as Chuenboonngarn surged ahead  at 133 with a scorching 62 after a 71, wresting a one-shot lead over Kyungnam Kang, who slowed down with a 69 after a 65 for a 134 in a tie with fellow Korean Hongtaek Kim, who fired a 65.

In Thailand, Angelo Que put on a blistering frontside finish to shoot a 69 and safely make it to the weekend play of the All Thailand Partnership Trophy 2024 led by Kosuke Hamamoto at the Red Mountain Golf Club in Kathu District, also on Friday.

Unable to get his game going after a one-bogey, one-birdie card at the back, Que picked up strokes on Nos. 1, 4 and 9 for a 33-36 round at the par-71 layout which received a severe beating from the men of the Asian Development Tour that saw a slew of aces breaking par.

That includes Hamamoto, whose 65 propelled him to the lead at 10-under 132, one stroke ahead of fellow Thai Waris Manthorn, who pooled a 133 after a 67, while another pair of locals, Panuphol Pittayarat and Kammalas Namuangruk, stood another stroke further back at 134 after 66 and 69, respectively.

Although Que remained seven strokes behind Hamamoto at joint 19th, the three-time Asian Tour leg winner hopes to build on his strong second round finish in quest of mounting a comeback in the pivotal round in the 72-hole championship offering a total prize fund of THB3 million.

Rupert Zaragosa, meanwhile, blew a one-under frontside card with two bogeys in the last seven holes as he ended up with a 72 to slip to joint 40th with a 141, one stroke above the cutoff line.

Sean Ramos and Gabriel Manotoc fell by the wayside with the former struggling with a 74 for a 151 and the latter finishing with a 155 after an 81.